Nankeen Night-Heron

The nankeen night heron, also called the rufous night heron for its distinctive reddish-brown colour, is a heron of the genus Nycticorax. This species is 55 to 65 cm long (Wikipedia, general species account). The nankeen night heron was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with herons, cranes and storks in the genus Ardea and coined the binomial name Ardea caledonica. (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is primarily nocturnal and is observed in a broad range of habitats, including forests, meadows, shores, reefs, marshes, grasslands and swamps. The heron had been observed in September 1774 on the island of New Caledonia during Captain James Cook's second voyage to the Pacific Ocean. Adult male nankeen night herons give a qu-arck sound when departing their roost at night. The nankeen night heron gives a hoarse, croaking quok when in flight, and a harsh croak sound while feeding in a group. (Wikipedia, general species account).