Nankeen Night Heron, Australia

The Nankeen Night Heron frequents wetlands, and is found along shallow river margins, mangroves, floodplains and swamps in Indonesia, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, Melanesia, and throughout much of Australia. This juvenile bird was photographed in Victoria, Australia. The juvenile Nankeen Night Heron with mottled plumage is quite different to the adult with its black cap and reddish-brown back, tail and wings. The nankeen night heron is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.