Black-headed Heron Gallery

Ardea melanocephala

The Birds of the World website provides this introductory information about the Black-headed Heron:  A large, grayish heron of drier habitats; note distinctly dark cap and nape contrasting with white throat. In flight the underwing is strongly contrasting black-and-white. The juvenile is duskier and duller. It walks slowly, hunting for small animals, and is often found far from water foraging in burnt grassland or open savanna, though it may also occasionally haunt a pond or quiet river bend. Juveniles resemble juvenile Gray Herons, but juvenile Black-headed Herons have slate-gray rather than yellow legs. Gray Heron also has uniformly gray (not black-and-white) underwings.

I saw and photographed my first Black-headed Heron on August 20, 2023 in the Amazon Basin Region of Brazil.  Our small group with Jeff Parker Tours was at Southwild’s Fazenda São Nicolau located on the Juruena River west of Alta Floresta. We left the lodge early that morning headed back to Cuiabá, taking a boat to the ferry landing on the other side of the Juruena River.  It was on this boat ride that I saw a juvenile Black-headed Heron , perched near the river. For a more detailed description of the trip that included my sighting of this bird look at this blog post.  Here are some of my photos of this little bird.