A large waterbird with a white body, black flight feathers, and red legs; in Japan it lives around waters and wetlands.
It has a white body, black flight feathers and bill, and red legs and eye rings. Males and females look alike.
It eats fish and frogs. In muddy or cloudy water, it can also search for prey by touch with its bill. Japan's wild population was established through reintroduction.
In Japan a clutch contains three to five eggs. The interval from laying the first egg to the first hatching averages 35 days, and the nestling period averages 69 days.
When feeding by touch it may sweep an open bill from side to side in the water, snapping it shut when prey makes contact.
Its overall length is about 130 cm and its wingspan about 220 cm.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.