Indian Pond Heron

The Indian pond heron, or paddybird, is a small, stocky heron with a short neck, a short thick bill and a buff-brown back; breeding adults grow long neck feathers. At rest its streaked olive and brown plumage is superbly cryptic, but it is transformed in flight, when bright white wings flash against the dark body. It is very like the squacco heron but darker-backed, and further east it is replaced by the Chinese pond heron, with which it forms a superspecies. It is usually silent but may give a harsh croak when flushed (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is widespread and common but easily overlooked as it stalks prey at the edge of small water bodies or roosts close to homes. Its camouflage is so good that it can be approached very closely before it flies, which has led to folk beliefs that it is short-sighted or blind. It usually forages alone, though many may gather where shrinking pools concentrate prey in the dry season, and it breeds in loose colonies (Wikipedia, general species account).