Wouldn't a Fist Bump Be Better?
When they are startled, young black-crowned night herons greet intruders by regurgitating food as a defense mechanism. It is an unappetizing way to drive off the predator, or if the youngster’s last meal was something tasty, the predator may decide to opt for the instant meal instead of killing the chick.
Thanks to this barfing behavior, researchers can easily get food samples when they’re studying the diet of young night herons. The rest of us should simply keep our distance from their nests and ask politely what they had for breakfast.
When you look, you see.
Since black-crowned night heron chicks only perform their defensive disgorging when they are threatened, I’ve personally never witnessed one of those magical moments.
You’d have to be at a rookery to have any chance to observe an upchuck, so first you may want to check out Copper’s Distract Fact about black-crowned night heron colonies to learn about where these birds raise their young.
Looking for someone to cough up a little more info about black-crowned night herons?
There are a ton of awesome books and resources online to learn about all types of birds and their interesting behaviors. I’ve included a great general bird book recommendation below. In order to hurl some more appetizing black-crowned night heron tidbits at you, I’ve also heaved up a couple of links for you to feast upon.
Kids, remember to ask a parent, teacher, or librarian for help whenever you are looking for books or using the Internet. I always try to make sure to share kid-friendly books and resources, but websites are changing all the time, so always check with an adult first.
- Check out the book National Geographic Kids Bird Guide of North America, Second Edition by Jonathan Alderfer to learn about all kinds of birds including black-crowned night herons. One of the cool things about Jonathan’s book is that it also includes interesting facts about the birds, like the defensive puking practices of young black-crowned night herons.
- The Smithsonian’s National Zoo in Washington, D.C. has a wild nesting colony and you can watch a great video here on their website to see how the zoo handles their annual visits and see some of their nestlings in the nests. Sadly, no barfing is observed in the video. https://nationalzoo.si.edu/animals/news/black-crowned-night-herons-return-zoo
- Visit the Chesapeake Bay Program website and scroll down to watch two spiky-haired, very chatty (but non-barfing) black-crowned night heron chicks. https://www.chesapeakebay.net/S=0/fieldguide/critter/black_crowned_night_heron