The Black-headed Heron is a large heron with a black head and gray-and-white body. The sexes look alike, though some birds have little or no white on the front of the neck.
Adults have a black head and hindneck with a narrow white band across the forehead above the eyes. The white patch on the front of the neck is inconspicuous or absent in some individuals.
It forages in moist grassland, fields, marshes, and along rivers and lakes, and also hunts on land. In South Africa, large rodents and birds are common prey.
The eyes are normally yellow, turn red at the start of breeding, and fade back to yellow during incubation. Juveniles have a brownish-grey head and neck with off-white underparts.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.