The blue-grey body and white face are distinctive. It walks through mudflats, shallows and wet grass after rain, taking fish, crabs, insects and other prey.
Adults are blue-grey, with white on the face and front of the neck. Breeding birds develop long grey back plumes and shorter pinkish-brown breast plumes. Immatures lack the white face.
It walks slowly through mudflats, shallow water and wet grass after rain, taking small fish, crabs, earthworms and insects.
In New Zealand it builds a loose platform nest high in large trees. Both parents incubate the three to five eggs for about 26 days.
The bill is dark grey with a dull yellow base, and the legs are pale yellow. Spread wings contrast pale grey forewings with darker main flight feathers.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.