Mystery Bird: Juvenile Yellow-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax violaceus

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[Mystery bird] Juvenile Yellow-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax violaceus, photographed by Crab Road, Surfside, Texas. [I will identify this bird for you tomorrow]

Image: Joseph Kennedy, 12 February 2009 [larger view].

Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/1250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400

Please name at least one field mark that supports your identification.

Adult Yellow-crowned night-heron, Nycticorax violaceus, photographed by Crab Road, Surfside, Texas.

Image: Joseph Kennedy, 12 February 2009 [larger view].

Nikon D200, Kowa 883 telescope with tsn-pz camera eyepiece 1/1250s f/8.0 at 1000.0mm iso400

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Well, it's a heron. With an evil eye. Hmmm. I'm not sure, but I'm going to guess a juvenile great blue heron, due to the lack of sparkles/spots on the feathers (for a little blue) and just general appearance.

A juvenile Yellow-Crowned Night Heron. The shape and length of the beak is the clue here, along with the orange eye. Yellow-Crowns have an eye unlike any other wader.

I'm sort of lost. JohnB, could I ask you to please tell me more about how Yellow-Crown eyes are different? I'm trying to learn, but they look really the same in my books.

I vote for juvenile Yellow-crowned Night Heron based on the thick, dark bill and orange eye. No other juvenile heron has the dark bill of the Yellow-crowned.

Bardiac, their eyes have what I would describe as "heavy" looking upper eyelids making the shape of the eye itself very distinctive compared with other herons. It's not easy to see that in the photo here, but it's still a matter of instant recognition. Google some images of them and you'll find some that show what I mean.

Oh, cool! Thank you, that helps a LOT. I love learning this sort of thing. Thank you :) (I was looking at eye color, and it didn't seem different, but now I see what you mean!

LOoks like a baby great blue heron to me ... i have some photos i took of baby Black Crowned Night Herons ..they have the same blood red eye as their parents but the feather coloring is brown.