Nycticorax
| Nycticorax Temporal range: Early Oligocene to present
| |
|---|---|
| Black-crowned night heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Pelecaniformes |
| Family: | Ardeidae |
| Subfamily: | Ardeinae |
| Genus: | Nycticorax T. Forster, 1817 |
| Type species | |
| Nycticorax infaustus = Ardea nycticorax T. Forster, 1817
| |
| Species | |
|
2 extant, see text | |
Nycticorax is a genus of night herons. The name Nycticorax means "night raven" and derives from the Ancient Greek νύκτος, nuktos "night" and κοραξ, korax, "raven". It refers to the largely nocturnal feeding habits of this group of birds, and the croaking crow-like call of the best known species, the black-crowned night heron.