Malayan Night Heron

Malayan Night Heron

Scientific Name: Gorsachius melanolophus

Malay Name: Pucung-Harimau Ubun Hitam

Chinese Name: 黑冠鳽

Range: Found from India, China, mainland Southeast Asia to the Philippines with some populations wintering south to Southeast Asia

Taxonomy: Monotypic.

Size: 48-51 cm

Identification: Adult has deep rufous head-sides and neck with black crown and long crest, chestnut-tinged brown upperparts, wings-coverts and upper-breast and densely marked blackish and whitish belly/vent. Juvenile is duller than adults and has densed irregular whitish to buffish and greyish bars and vermiculations on underparts and wings-coverts.

Habitat: Forest, forest edge, gardens, parks and wooded areas.

Behaviour/Ecology:

Local Status: Uncommon migrant

Conservation Status: Least Concern (BirdLife International 2016)

Location: Bidadari, Singapore Botanic Gardens, Jurong Lake Garden, Venus Drive, Turuk Track, Tuas South and Hindhede Nature Park.

Featured articles:

Featured reports: Mar 2022, Apr 2022, Oct 2022, Nov 2022, Mar 2023, Apr 2023, Nov 2023, Dec 2023, Jan 2024, May 2024, Aug 2024, Nov 2024

Migrant bar chart (see more bar charts):

Malayan Night Heron Gorsachius melanolophus
Estimated average number of individuals by week based on eBird data, Jul 2014 to Jun 2024
Peak week Dec 03-Dec 09
Early date 03 Aug 2024
Late date 10 Jun 2021
Scarce and secretive forest heron. Its habits possibly contribute to the relatively low number of records here.
Malayan Night Heron at Hindhede Nature Park. Photo credit: Francis Yap
Malayan Night Heron at Hindhede Nature Park. Photo credit: Francis Yap
Malayan Night Heron at Hindhede Nature Park. Photo credit: Francis Yap
Adult Malayan Night Heron at Tuas. Photo credit: See Toh Yew Wai
Adult Malayan Night Heron at Tuas. Photo credit: Francis Yap
Malayan Night Heron at Singapore Botanic Gardens. Photo credit: Francis Yap
Juvenile Malayan Night Heron at Singapore Botanic Gardens. Photo credit: Chris Li
Juvenile Malayan Night Heron at Tuas. Photo credit: Francis Yap
Adult Malayan Night Heron at Bidadari. Photo credit: Alan Ng

External Links:

Conservation Status: IUCN Red List Page

Sound Recordings: xeno-canto Link

Wikipedia Entry: Wikipedia Link

eBird Species page: eBird (Malayan Night Heron)

References:

BirdLife International. (2016). Gorsachius melanolophus. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016. https://dx.doi.org/10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22697242A93604480.en. Accessed on 1 January 2023

Robson, C. (2014). Field guide to the birds of South-East Asia (Second Edition). Bloomsbury Publishing, London.

RECOMMENDED CITATION

Bird Society of Singapore. (n.d.). Malayan Night Heron. Retrieved on January 17, 2025 from https://singaporebirds.com/species/malayan-night-heron.

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