Kwakwa - a bird of the heron family

Kwakva

Resembles a bittern, length up to 60 cm. It has a shorter neck compared to other herons and a short but strong and powerful beak. Its legs are also shorter than those of other herons. The male in breeding plumage has a black cap with a greenish sheen and a back of the same color. The wings are gray. The wing length is 26-30 cm. The belly and sides are white. In spring, 2-4 long narrow white feathers grow on the back of the head. The beak is black, and the legs, with long toes, are yellow or pinkish. The female has a similar coloration.

Kwakvas are mainly active in the mornings and evenings, sitting motionless on a branch during the day. However, during the nesting period, they are active during the day as well. Kwakvas inhabit marshy areas overgrown with woody vegetation and build nests in trees, or if there are few or no trees, in reed and bulrush thickets. Kwakva colonies can be very large, numbering up to two, two and a half thousand birds.

Like all herons, kwakvas feed on various animal foods. Their diet mainly consists of aquatic and small terrestrial animals (insects, frogs, lizards, rodents). Kwakvas lead a nocturnal lifestyle.

During the day, they usually sit quietly in small flocks on trees or in reeds, hiding from the sun's rays. They are noisy birds, especially during the nesting season. Their call sounds like a distinctive "kwak, kwak, kwak," repeated at intervals.

Kwakvas nest in colonies with other herons or in their own colonies in trees or bushes. They can also nest on bends of reeds. The kwakva builds its nest from small twigs, where the female lays 3-4 eggs.

After 21 days, the chicks hatch, usually with a difference of 1-2 days, in the order in which the eggs were laid. Both parents feed the chicks, initially regurgitating semi-digested food into their beaks. Later, as the chicks grow, they begin to feed them regular food.

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