Malayan Night Heron
Gorsachius melanolophus
Bizarre-looking bird with the squat, staring appearance of a toad. Adult is dark cinnamon-brown with a black crown and a black stripe running from the throat down to the breast. Juvenile is very different, with gray-brown barring all over the body (darkest on the crown). Breeding birds have an especially bright blue facial skin patch between the bill and the eyes; the patch is faded in non-breeders, and yellowish in juveniles. Japanese Night-Heron is similar but averages duller brown with less contrasting black patches. Typically nocturnal and furtive in forested areas, but can frequently be tame and active during the day as well.
Identification
The Malayan night heron is about 48 cm (19 in) long. The wingspan is about 86 cm (34 in). It is stocky, with a short beak. Its neck and breast are rufous. There are streaks going down the centre of the neck to the breast. The upperparts are chestnut and vermiculated. The flight feathers are blackish. The crown is black, the chin is white, and the eyes are yellow. The beak is black and the legs are greenish. The juvenile is greyish to rufous and is spotted and vermiculated. Males have been reported to have deeper blue lores and a longer crest compared to females during the breeding season. Males develop the dark blue lores 30–60 days prior to pair-bonding, while females had bluish-green lores when they first appeared in the breeding areas. Colours of the lores of both sexes faded as incubation progressed, with colours changing to bluish-green to green to greyish-green. If pairs laid a second clutch, the colouration of their lores were duller than the colouration during the first clutch.
Taxonomy
- Scientific name
- Gorsachius melanolophus
- Authority
- (Raffles, 1822)
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
- Family
- Ardeidae
- Genus
- Gorsachius
Range and habitat
The Malayan night heron has been found in India, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan. It is a vagrant in Palau and Korea. Its range size is estimated at 1,240,000 km2. One roadkilled bird was discovered on Christmas Island, Australia where it is likely a vagrant. This bird occurs in forests, streams, and marshes. In Japan, population densities of the herons increased as undisturbed forest cover on islands increased.
- Breeding range
- OR : W Ghats (sw India), ne India through se Asia and se China to Philippines, Peleng (Banggai Is., e of Sulawesi)
- Non-breeding range
- to Sri Lanka, Greater Sundas
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Conservation
The bird has a large range and its global population is between 2,000 and 20,000 individuals. Its population trend is not known, but it does not meet the criteria for a vulnerable species status.
- Population trend
- unknown
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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Medium-sized woodpecker found from Costa Rica to northern South America. Pale buffy overall with a red nape and belly and black-and-white barring on the back. Female has a pale crown with restricted red on the back of the nape; male has red extending to top of crown. Common in open woodlands, second growth, and gardens. Distinctive in range, but hybridizes extensively with Hoffmann’s Woodpecker on the Pacific slope in Costa Rica. Hybrids usually show orange nape and belly.
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Small vanga that is built like a chickadee or tit. Male is colorful and female plain brownish. Madagascar endemic that is found very locally in spiny forest growing on limestone. Only described to science in the 1990s. Most common vocalization is a two- or three-part rising whistle. Separated from much more widespread Red-tailed Vanga by its pale eye and additional red on the shoulder.
White-rumped Shrike
Eurocephalus ruppelli
A big fluffy shrike with unusual white and dark brown coloration. Note the white crown and the white rump patch that is conspicuous in floppy flight. Immatures look very different, with a dark crown and white cheek, but usually associate with adults. Found in dry savanna and woodland, usually in small flocks. Perches up conspicuously and swoops to the ground to catch prey. Similar to White-crowned Shrike, but ranges don’t overlap. Loud and unmelodious vocalizations include cawing and scolding notes.
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