Boat-billed Heron

This is a curious little heron that has, in French, a rather exotic name. Its crest of black feathers towards the back of its head gives it an elegant look with its large black eyes, which indicate a bird of rather nocturnal habits.

Indeed, liking the rain forest habitats of Central and South America, it feeds, mainly at dawn or dusk, on small mammals and insects, but especially on aquatic creatures that it catches with its broad flat beak.

Nesting in colonies in mangrove swamps, along rivers and marshes, the Boat-Billed Heron fishes by waiting, remaining motionless or moving slowly in shallow water. It has rather long toes on its feet, which enables it to move with ease on the large leaves of aquatic plants.