Nyctanassa

Nyctanassa is a genus of night herons from the Americas, especially (but not exclusively) warmer coastal regions. They were formerly included in the genus Nycticorax, but today all major authorities recognize them as distinct.

Taxonomy

The genus Nyctanassa was introduced in 1887 by the Norwegian born zoologist Leonhard Stejneger to accommodate a single species, the yellow-crowned night heron, which is therefore the type species.

Etymology

The genus name Nyctanassa combines the : , genitive : meaning "night" with : meaning "queen" or "lady".

Species

The genus contains the following two species, of which only one is still extant:

References

Further reading

• Peterson, Alan P. (Editor). 1999. Zoological Nomenclature Resource (Zoonomen). Accessed 2007-7-29.
• Remsen, J. V., Jr., C. D. Cadena, A. Jaramillo, M. Nores, J. F. Pacheco, M. B. Robbins, T. S. Schulenberg, F. G. Stiles, D. F. Stotz, and K. J. Zimmer. [Version 2007-07-29.] A classification of the bird species of South America. American Ornithologists' Union. Accessed 2007-04-10.