nyctiardea

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A genus of altricial grallatorial birds of the family Ardeidæ, having a very stout bill, comparatively short legs, and somewhat nocturnal habits; the night-herons. The common night-heron of Europe is N. nycticorax, or N. grisea, or N. europæa. That of the United States is commonly called N. grisea nævia. This name of the genus is an alternative of Nycticorax. The yellow-crowned night-heron is usually placed in a different genus as Nyctherodius violaceus. See cut under night-heron.