The night herons are medium-sized herons, 58–65 cm, in the genera Nycticorax, Nyctanassa, and Gorsachius. The genus name Nycticorax derives from the Greek for “night raven” and refers to the largely nocturnal feeding habits of this group of birds, and the croaking crow-like, almost like a barking sound, call of the best known species, the black-crowned night heron. In Europe, night heron is often used to refer to the black-crowned night heron, since it is the only member of the genus in that continent. Adults are short-necked, short-legged, and stout herons with a primarily brown or grey plumage, and, in most, a black crown. Young birds are brown, flecked with white. At least some of the extinct Mascarenes taxa appear to have retained this juvenile plumage in adult birds. (Source: Wikipedia.org, CC BY-SA)