A small heron of freshwater and brackish marshes with tall aquatic plants. It may wait motionless among reeds and watch for small prey.
It has a long, pointed yellow bill and long legs. Adult males have a dark green-black crown and back with two white stripes on the back; females and young birds are browner or buff-coloured.
It lives in freshwater and brackish marshes with tall reeds and other aquatic plants. It may hunt by staying still beside reeds and watching for small fish, frogs, and other small prey.
It builds platforms of stems or twigs in marsh plants or bushes over water. The male does most nest construction, continuing to add material during incubation.
Clutches range from two to seven eggs, usually four or five in northern breeding areas and two or three in the tropics. Both sexes incubate for 17–20 days.
Juveniles resemble adult females but have paler, browner crowns and backs. Their pale wing patches have dusky streaks, and the throat and breast streaking is brown.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.