MONTANA FIELD GUIDE™

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- Kingdom - Animals - Animalia
  - Phylum - Vertebrates - Craniata
    - Class - Birds - Aves
      - Order - Pelicans / Herons / Bitterns / Ibises - Pelecaniformes
        
        Family - Bitterns / Egrets / Herons / Night-Herons - Ardeidae
        
        Species - Yellow-crowned Night Heron - Nyctanassa violacea

Yellow-crowned Night Heron - Nyctanassa violacea

Native Species
Accidental Species

Global Rank: G5
State Rank: SNA

Agency Status
USFWS: MBTA
USFS:
BLM:
PIF:

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General Description

The Yellow-crowned Night-Heron breeds throughout the southeastern U.S. and is a year-round resident along the southeastern coastal U.S. and western coast of Mexico (Watts 2011). This species is an accidental in Montana (Montana Bird Distribution Committee 2012).

For a comprehensive review of the conservation status, habitat use, and ecology of this and other Montana bird species, please see Marks et al. 2016, Birds of Montana.

Species Range

Accidental

Western Hemisphere Range

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database

Data Use Terms and Conditions
Map Help and Descriptions

Number of Observations: 3
(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version)

Relative Density

Recency

SUMMER (Feb 16 - Dec 14)

Direct Evidence of Breeding

Indirect Evidence of Breeding

No Evidence of Breeding

WINTER (Dec 15 - Feb 15)

Regularly Observed

Not Regularly Observed

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)

Stewardship Responsibility

References

Literature Cited AboveLegend: View Online Publication
- Marks, J.S., P. Hendricks, and D. Casey. 2016. Birds of Montana. Arrington, VA. Buteo Books. 659 pages.
- Montana Bird Distribution Committee. 2012. P.D. Skaar's Montana bird distribution. 7th Edition. Montana Audubon, Helena, Montana. 208 pp. + foldout map.
- Watts, B. D. 2011. Yellow-crowned night-heron (Nyctanassa violacea). The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
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- American Ornithologists’ Union [AOU]. 1998. Check-list of North American birds, 7th edition. American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C. 829 p.
- Ehrlich, P., D. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birder’s handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon and Schuster Inc. New York. 785 pp.
- Hays, R., R.L. Eng, and C.V. Davis (preparers). 1984. A list of Montana birds. Helena, MT: MT Dept. of Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
- Joslin, Gayle, and Heidi B. Youmans. 1999. Effects of recreation on Rocky Mountain wildlife: a review for Montana. [Montana]: Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society.
- Lenard, S., J. Carlson, J. Ellis, C. Jones, and C. Tilly. 2003. P. D. Skaar's Montana bird distribution, 6th edition. Montana Audubon, Helena, MT. 144 pp.
- Lokemoen, J.T. 1979. The status of herons, egrets, and ibises in North Dakota. Prairie Nat. 11(4): 97-110.
- National Geographic Society. 1983. Field guide to the birds of North America. Second Edition. National Geographic Society, Washington, DC.
- Sibley, D. 2014. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY. 598 pp.
- Skaar, P. D., D. L. Flath, and L. S. Thompson. 1985. Montana bird distribution. Montana Academy of Sciences Monograph 3(44): ii-69.
- Skaar, P.D. 1969. Birds of the Bozeman latilong: a compilation of data concerning the birds which occur between 45 and 46 N. latitude and 111 and 112 W. longitude, with current lists for Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, impinging Montana counties and Yellowstone National Park. Bozeman, MT. 132 p.
- U.S. Forest Service. 1991. Forest and rangeland birds of the United States: Natural history and habitat use. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Agricultural Handbook 688. 625 pages.
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Citation for data on this website:
Yellow-crowned Night Heron — Nyctanassa violacea. MONTANA FIELD GUIDE™. Montana Natural Heritage Program. Retrieved on October 15, 2026, from https://FieldGuide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=ABNGA13010