This small, stubby, squawk-y bird is found on almost every content ¹, from North America to southern Eurasia. They can be found year-round in Toronto, but are harder to observe during fall and winter.

The Black-Crowned Night Heron is most active at night (or early morning), hence its name. While they do consume lots of fish, Black-crowned Night Herons don't tend to be too picky with their diet: Studies show that this bird will feed on just about anything that moves, from crabs to fish and even (in one journal ²) eels!

"If only I had a fishing rod..."

One thing that amazes me about most animals is how they occasionally exhibit human-like behaviours, and Black-crowned Night Herons are no exception to this rule: They show an impressive amount of skill in stalking and hunting prey.

This Night Heron was rapidly moving its beak on the surface of the water, in an attempt to catch prey using a method known as "bill vibration". Herons will also use mulch, sticks and other pieces of wood as bait.

Male night herons, like the one in this photo, are easily identified by the long plume on the top of their heads. Although it may be funny-looking to us, this head accessory proves absolutely irresistible to the opposite sex. According to All About Birds³, the male uses this plume as part of his courtship routine. Courtship is performed after the male finishes constructing a nest ³.

Black-crowned Night Herons can sometimes be observed sneaking along the edges of ponds, or standing on perches. After getting into position, they will stand completely still and wait for an opportunity to strike their prey. This is known as the "stand and wait" method, and involves quite a bit of patience if you're looking for a picture: Black-crowned Night Herons are known for their ability to be "motionless" during the day⁴, which (speaking from personal experience) accurately describes this bird.

Sources

[1] iNaturalist
[2] Diet of Nestling Black-Crowned Night-Herons in a Mixed Species Colony: Implications for Tern Conservation (p.638)
[3] Black-crowned Night-Heron, Life History
[4] Black-crowned Night-Heron: Audubon.org

More photos

Pictures of this heron, and other heron species, are also available on my gallery.