Adults in breeding plumage have a dark reddish-brown head and chest with white wings that flash as they take flight. In Hong Kong it occurs in wetlands year-round, with both migrants and resident birds.
Adults in breeding plumage have a dark reddish-brown head and chest with white wings. Nonbreeding birds and immatures have broad brown streaks on the head and chest and plain brown upperparts.
It feeds on fish, frogs, shrimp, and dragonflies in low-lying damp places and park lakes. It is usually solitary, and its white wings are conspicuous in flight.
In Hong Kong, it breeds in colonies. It usually forages alone, but loose groups can occur at favored ponds and feeding sites.
In breeding plumage, the bill is orange-yellow with a black tip. At peak breeding condition, the bases of the orange-yellow legs become reddish. First-year birds have patches of pale brown across the upperwings and tail tip.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.