Nankeen Night-Heron

Nankeen Night-Heron

Nycticorax caledonicus

Silhouette: Ferran Sayol · PhyloPic

LCLeast ConcernNTVUENCR
Daily sighting probability ~20% · Possible
at Makassar

In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%

13 Verified sightings at Makassar
1,589 In all 15 parks From 2019 to 2026
August Best month
☀️ Diurnal When it's spotted

About the Nankeen Night-Heron

The nankeen night heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) is a heron that belongs to the genus Nycticorax and the family Ardeidae. Due to its distinctive reddish-brown colour, it is also commonly referred to as the rufous night heron. It is primarily nocturnal and is observed in a broad range of habitats, including forests, meadows, shores, reefs, marshes, grasslands, and swamps. The species is 55 to 65 cm (22 to 26 in) in length, with rich cinnamon upperparts and white underparts. The nankeen night heron has a stable population size, and is classified as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

The nankeen night heron was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it with herons, cranes and storks in the genus Ardea and coined the binomial name Ardea caledonica. Gmelin based his description on the "Caledonian night heron" that had been described in 1875 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume work A General Synopsis of Birds. The heron had been observed in September 1774 on the island of New Caledonia... Wikipedia →

Sounds

Call0:09

Australia · 2026

© Marc Anderson · XC1179494 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Begging call0:10

Malaysia · 2022

© Lim Ying Hien · XC762344 · CC BY-NC-ND 4.0

Flight call0:17

Philippines · 2014

© Stijn De Win / Birding2asia.com · XC175100 · CC BY-NC-SA 4.0

Global Distribution

Parks Where Found

# Park Country Daily sighting probability
1 Kakadu National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~40%
2 Daintree National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~20%
3 Tangkoko Nature Reserve 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
4 Hattah-Kulkyne National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
5 Cape Range 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
6 Ningaloo Marine Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
7 Royal National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
8 Nitmiluk National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
9 Kinabatangan Wildlife Sanctuary 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
10 Rottnest Island 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
11 Grampians National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
12 Raja Ampat 🇮🇩 Indonesia
<5%
13 Danum Valley Conservation Area 🇲🇾 Malaysia
<5%
14 Great Otway National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
15 Blue Mountains National Park 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%

Cities Where Found

# City Country Daily sighting probability
1 Makassar 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~20%
2 Perth 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
3 Manila 🇵🇭 Philippines
~10%
4 Denpasar 🇮🇩 Indonesia
~10%
5 Cebu City 🇵🇭 Philippines
~10%
6 Melbourne 🇦🇺 Australia
~10%
7 Brisbane 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%
8 Sydney 🇦🇺 Australia
<5%

Zoos & Centres Where Found

# Zoo / Centre Country
1 Prague Zoo 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
2 Tierpark Berlin 🇩🇪 Germany In captivity
3 Night Safari 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
4 Singapore Zoo 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
5 Lok Kawi Wildlife Park 🇲🇾 Malaysia In captivity
6 Perth Zoo 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity
7 Phillip Island Wildlife Park 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity
8 Bird Paradise 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
9 Rainforest Wild Asia 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
10 Hartley’s Crocodile Adventures 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity
11 Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity
12 River Wonders 🇸🇬 Singapore In captivity
13 Gorge Wildlife Park 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity
14 Albay Park and Wildlife 🇵🇭 Philippines In captivity
15 Dreamland Nature and Adventure Park 🇵🇭 Philippines In captivity
16 Featherdale Sydney Wildlife Park 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity
17 Rákosův pavilon 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
18 Velemlokárium 🇨🇿 Czechia In captivity
19 Ranger Red’s Zoo & Conservation Park 🇦🇺 Australia In captivity

Before you go

What are the chances of seeing a Nankeen Night-Heron in Makassar?

Possible

About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Nankeen Night-Heron sighting in Makassar on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 31st most-seen of the 66 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.

What time of day is best to see a Nankeen Night-Heron?

Between 10 am and 1 pm

Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Nankeen Night-Heron sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.

Is Makassar the best place to see a Nankeen Night-Heron?

Yes

Of the 8 cities where we can rate Nankeen Night-Heron sightings, Makassar has the highest daily chance: about 20%. Next come Perth (Australia, about 10%) and Manila (Philippines, about 10%).

Where does the Nankeen Night-Heron sighting chance come from?

GBIF citizen-science records

It is estimated from how often the Nankeen Night-Heron is recorded against all the birds logged in Makassar (13 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.

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