Malayan Night Heron
Encyclopedia
The Malayan Night Heron (Gorsachius melanolophus) also known as Malaysian Night Heron, is a medium-sized heron
. It is distributed in south, east and southeast Asia
, breeding in India
, Taiwan
, China
and the Philippines
.
The Malayan Night Heron stands about 47 cm tall. It is nocturnal and is found in forests. Adults have black crowns, and are reddish-brown overall, with dark reddish-brown underparts with fine streaks, and black underwings. The adults also have blue lores on the face, which can vary in colour after moulting. The sexes are similar, though males may have a darker crest and some birds, especially females, may retain juvenile plumage. The juvenile is greyish-brown with black and white spots, and its underparts are streaked.
This species is often found near water, and are also common in urban parks. The Malayan Night Heron feeds mostly on earthworms and frogs, and more rarely on fish and lizards. The heron often hunts giant earthworms, tugging it out of the ground and shaking it to bite the head off before eating it. It also undulates its throat while swallowing the worm. When threatened, the Malayan Night Heron will raise its crest.
The female Malayan Night Heron lays 3-5 eggs and does most of the incubation. Both parents feed the young. Third-party birds may sometimes attempt to help raise the young, but are often chased away by the parent birds. Some parent birds have been known to have immature plumage; most of these appear to be females.
Widespread throughout its large range, the Malayan Night Heron is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List
of Threatened Species.
Heron
The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....
. It is distributed in south, east and southeast Asia
Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia, South-East Asia, South East Asia or Southeastern Asia is a subregion of Asia, consisting of the countries that are geographically south of China, east of India, west of New Guinea and north of Australia. The region lies on the intersection of geological plates, with heavy seismic...
, breeding in India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
.
The Malayan Night Heron stands about 47 cm tall. It is nocturnal and is found in forests. Adults have black crowns, and are reddish-brown overall, with dark reddish-brown underparts with fine streaks, and black underwings. The adults also have blue lores on the face, which can vary in colour after moulting. The sexes are similar, though males may have a darker crest and some birds, especially females, may retain juvenile plumage. The juvenile is greyish-brown with black and white spots, and its underparts are streaked.
This species is often found near water, and are also common in urban parks. The Malayan Night Heron feeds mostly on earthworms and frogs, and more rarely on fish and lizards. The heron often hunts giant earthworms, tugging it out of the ground and shaking it to bite the head off before eating it. It also undulates its throat while swallowing the worm. When threatened, the Malayan Night Heron will raise its crest.
The female Malayan Night Heron lays 3-5 eggs and does most of the incubation. Both parents feed the young. Third-party birds may sometimes attempt to help raise the young, but are often chased away by the parent birds. Some parent birds have been known to have immature plumage; most of these appear to be females.
Widespread throughout its large range, the Malayan Night Heron is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List
IUCN Red List
The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species , founded in 1963, is the world's most comprehensive inventory of the global conservation status of biological species. The International Union for Conservation of Nature is the world's main authority on the conservation status of species...
of Threatened Species.