Purple Heron

The purple heron is a large but slender heron, 78–97cm long with a wingspan of 120–152cm and a weight of only 0.5–1.35kg. It is smaller and darker than the grey heron, with reddish-brown plumage and, in adults, a darker grey back. The forehead and crown are black, with a dark stripe down the back of the neck ending in a short, slender crest, and the buff-chestnut sides of the head and neck are marked with dark stripes. The rest of the upperparts and the tail are brownish grey (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is more secretive than the grey heron, favouring densely vegetated habitats near water, especially reedbeds. It hunts fish, rodents, frogs and insects, stalking them or waiting in ambush. It breeds in colonies, building a bulky nest of dead reeds or sticks near the water's edge among reeds or dense vegetation; both parents incubate about five bluish-green eggs, which hatch after about four weeks. African and tropical Asian birds are mainly sedentary (Wikipedia, general species account).