BC Conservation Data Centre: Conservation Status Report
Nycticorax nycticorax
Black-crowned Night-Heron
| Scientific Name: | Nycticorax nycticorax |
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| English Name: | Black-crowned Night-Heron |
| Provincial Status Summary | |
| Status: | S1 |
| Date Status Assigned: | January 14, 2013 |
| Date Last Reviewed: | March 25, 2022 |
| Reasons: | Note: Ranking scores are for accidental breeders, scores for nonbreeders in brackets () in comment fields. Nonbreeders rare, fairly small range. |
| Range | |
| Range Extent: | AB = <100-250 square km |
| Range Extent Comments: | Breeding only on Reifel Island (considered accidental). Nonbreeders (B) reported from southern tip of Vancouver Island and Fraser Lowlands east to Chilliwack, and in the interior, from Osoyoos Lake and Creston north through the central-southern interior to Clearwater Lake (Wells Gray Park), (Campbell et al. 1990). |
| Occurrences & Population | |
| Number of Occurrences: | A = 1 - 5 |
| Comments: | Reifel Island for accidental breeders. Nonbreeders (B?) spread through southern third of province (Campbell et al. 1990). |
| Number of Occurrences with Good Viability / Ecological Integrity: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Number of Occurrences Appropriately Protected & Managed: | B = 1 - 3 |
| Comments: | Reifel Bird Sanctuary for breeding and nonbreeding birds. Nonbreeders (B) may also have some protection at: Creston Valley Wildlife Management Area; Osoyoos Lake Regional Park; Wells Gray Park; Swan Lake Provincial Park and Swan Lake Nature Trust. |
| Population Size: | AC = 1 - 1,000 individuals |
| Comments: | Two breeding records in 1973 and 1975. Nonbreeders (A): Rare summer, recently rare local winter visitant on s. mainland coast; casual on Vancouver Island; very rare in s. interior. Most records are of single birds, largest flock observed had 11 birds (Campbell et al. 1990). |
| Threats (to population, occurrences, or area affected) | |
| Degree of Threat: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Trend (in population, range, area occupied, and/or condition of occurrences) | |
| Short-Term Trend: | U = Unknown |
| Comments: | Breeding accidental. Increased sightings for nonbreeders (D) in BC believed to be correlated with increased breeding in Washington state. On "extralimital" list since early 1900's and considered very rare until mid-1970s when reported frequently; seen every month in 1980's (Campbell et al. 1990). [On North American Blue List 1972-1981 (Tate 1981) due to believed declines; delisted 1982 because seemed to recover but not yet returned to areas where it was extirpated in previous 10 years (Tate and Tate 1982).] |
| Long-Term Trend: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Other Factors | |
| Intrinsic Vulnerability: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Environmental Specificity: | Rank Factor not assessed |
| Other Rank Considerations: | |
| Information Gaps | |
| Research Needs: | |
| Inventory Needs: | |
| Stewardship | |
| Protection: | |
| Management: | |
| Version | |
| Author: | Westereng, L.K. |
| Date: | February 02, 2000 |
| References | |
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Campbell, R.W., N.K. Dawe, I.McT. Cowan, J.M. Cooper, G. Kaiser, and M.C.E. McNall. 1990. The Birds of British Columbia, Vol. 1. Nonpasserines: Introduction, Loons through Waterfowl. Royal B.C. Mus. in association with Environ. Can., Can. Wildl. Serv. 514pp.
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Cannings, R.A., R.J. Cannings, and S.G. Cannings. 1987. Birds of the Okanagan Valley, B.C. Royal B.C. Mus., Victoria, BC. 420pp.
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Davidson, P.J.A. and G.F. Clulow. 2015. Black-crowned Night-Heron in Davidson, P.J.A., R.J. Cannings, A.R. Couturier, D. Lepage, and C.M. Di Corrado (eds.). The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of British Columbia, 2008-2012. Bird Studies Canada. Delta, B.C.
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eBird. ND. eBird: an online database of bird distribution and abundance [web application]. eBird, Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, N.Y.
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Hothem, R.L. et al. 2020. Black-crowned Night-Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (S. M. Billerman, Editor). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA.
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Tate, J. 1981. The blue list for 1981. American Birds 35:3-10.
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Tate, J., and D.J. Tate. 1982. The blue list for 1982. American Birds 36:126-135.
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Please visit the website Conservation Status Ranks for information on how the CDC determines conservation status ranks. For global conservation status reports and ranks, please visit the NatureServe website http://www.natureserve.org/.
Suggested Citation:
B.C. Conservation Data Centre. 2000. Conservation Status Report: Nycticorax nycticorax. B.C. Minist. of Environment. Available: https://a100.gov.bc.ca/pub/eswp/ (accessed Jun 10, 2026).