A large heron with a typical blue-gray plumage and long legs. It waits for prey near water and strikes quickly with its neck.
In the typical blue-gray form, a black stripe crosses the eye, and the long bill, neck, and legs are prominent.
It stands still or walks slowly through shallows along rivers and wetlands, then thrusts its neck and bill quickly to catch fish or small animals.
During breeding, it nests in colonies, building large stick nests high in trees. Colonies may also include other species of wading birds.
Immature birds of the usual blue-grey form have a pale belly, dark streaks on the neck, and brownish feathers mixed throughout. Their long bill is dusky.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.