Nycticorax nycticorax | black-crowned night-heron | ʻaukuʻu
Indigenous
Other Names: aukuu, auku'u
The stately ʻaukuʻu is found near ponds, streams, marshes and shorelines where it hunts for shellfish, fish, frogs, mice, insects, and even other birds. Standing about 2-feet tall, they are gray with a black bill, head, and back and yellow legs and feet with piercing red eyes. When breeding, they have long white feathers streaming from the top of their heads. You’ll see them most often at dawn and dusk, standing like a statue ready to strike their prey, or eerily swooping overhead into the dark.
Hotspots for black-crowned night-heron
- Keālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge | Details for Keālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge
- Kanahā Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary | Details for Kanahā Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary
- Keāhole Point | Details for Keāhole Point
- Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historic Park | Details for Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historic Park
- Wailoa River State Park | Details for Wailoa River State Park
- Loko Waka Pond | Details for Loko Waka Pond
Keālia Pond National Wildlife Refuge
Coastal Wetland
Kanahā Pond State Wildlife Sanctuary
Coastal Wetland
Keāhole Point
Open Ocean
Kaloko-Honokōhau National Historic Park
Coastal Wetland
Wailoa River State Park
Coastal Wetland
Loko Waka Pond
Coastal Wetland