Black-Crowned Night Herons change a lot as they grow up. The juvenile birds are soft brown with fuzzy white speckles, and the adults are grey on top and white underneath. Their colors blend in a fuzzy cloud-like way.

Like Tricolored Herons, they have a little white flag of feathers on the back of their neck.

Of course, I had to get that bird on a rail shot:

Our wetlands aren't very wet right now (summer 2011) as you can see; this Black-crowned Night Heron is walking across crispy plants on dry mud that used to be under water.

It was too dark to even have the camera out, but the birds were still active, and so was this alligator sneaking up behind the landing juvenile heron.