![A male Rufous Hummingbird in profile perched on the tip of a budding branch.](https://media.audubon.org/image/engagement-cards/rufous_hummingbird_boebatyapa_1200x657.jpg?width=345&height=219&auto=webp&quality=10&fit=crop&enable=upscale&blur=100)
Stocky yet stealthy, Black-crowned Night-herons get their name from their tendency to hunt at night. Found as far north as Canada and as far south as Argentina, these wetland-dwelling ardeids start their stealth training young. Juvenile herons leave the nest to join foraging flocks when they are just one month old—before they can even fly.
This image was a Top 100 photo from the 2011 Audubon Magazine Photography Awards. To see all of the photos, click here.