A heron that searches for food in shallow water, with distinct breeding and nonbreeding plumages.
Breeding adults have a brownish-buff head, neck, and breast, head plumes, and a whitish throat. The mantle and scapulars are dark brownish maroon. Nonbreeding adults and juveniles have buff and dark brown streaks on the head and neck, with a greyish-brown mantle and scapulars.
It walks slowly or stands in shallow water to find fish, frogs, crustaceans, and insects. It uses freshwater wetlands such as streams, marshes, and ponds, as well as open fields. It forages chiefly in the morning and the later part of the afternoon.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.