Nocturnal foraging of yellow-crowned night herons in the Bahamas

Detailed observations of nocturnal foraging of the Yellow-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax violacevs) are not to be found in the literature, though this species commonly feeds at night (Kushlan 1978, Riegner 1982a). I observed several Yellow-crowned Night Herons foraging during November and December, 1978 on San Salvador (Watlings) Island, The Bahamas. I watched herons from two palm-thatch blinds, a burlap blind, and a rooftop, all of which bordered an expansive lawn in front of the San Salvador Coast Guard Station. Because the lawn received dim light from nearby buildings, I was able to watch foraging herons with reasonable clarity, though not well enough to identify most prey items. I do not know whether the artificial lighting helped herons to locate prey, but this seems likely.