24 inches long with a 42 inch wingspan. The adult Yellow-crowned Night-Heron has a yellowish crown with a white patch on a black face.The body and wings are gray. The bill is a dark. It acquires whitish head plumes in breeding plumage. The juvenile has a brown-gray back with small white speckles. The undersides are brown streaked all the way down to the legs. It takes three years to acquire full breeding plumage. Each year the bird becomes lighter brown with less speckling.