Lava Heron

The lava heron, also known as the Galápagos heron, is a species of heron endemic to the Galápagos Islands of Ecuador. It was considered by some authorities, including the American Ornithological Society and BirdLife International, to be a subspecies of the striated heron, and was formerly lumped with this species and the green heron as the green-backed heron. Recent research has shown (unexpectedly) that it is more closely related to the North American green heron, than it is to the geographically much closer South American striated heron, and its status as a Galápagos endemic species is now universally accepted.