Re: [Paddlewise] Pelagic bird id?

It sounds for all the world like a black-crowned night heron,
although I think the head plumes are usually white, not
yellow.

-Paul

From: "John March" <jsmarch_at_acpub.duke.edu>

> Could be a Yellow-Crowned Night Heron?
> 


Two votes for black-crowned and one for yellow.

With the help of the names, I can look up on google (knowing
what it looks like doesn't easily lead to a name).  There
are lots of photos of these birds online.

The yellow crowned isn't right, since the neck is too long and 
the head plumage not quite right.  

The black-crowned is pretty exact, so I guess that's what it is.
I had looked at a photo of one earlier, but dismissed it as not
matching color and appearance.  Other photos showed variations
that match quite well.

It seems its range is all across Canada, so either I've never
noticed them before or they've recently moved into the area.
The latter is likely, since there are a number of species of 
birds and animals that have been re-establishing themselves 
in the Toronto area in recent years, including the beaver, 
who've been active at cutting down trees in the ravines and 
on the islands.  Very near where I pointed out one of these 
birds to Amie yesterday was a tree that was missing almost half 
its trunk near the ground with obvious tooth marks most of the 
way round.

Thanks for the help - I'll never make a birder, but at least I 
can identify another species while kayaking!

Mike

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