Scientific name: Ixobrychus minutus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Bird group: Bitterns and Herons
Field characters. 28-36 cm. Differs from other herons by very small size, blackish crown and back, and conspicuous isabelline-white wing patches, contrasting with the black of the rest of the wing and back. Crown and back of male glossed green. Plumage of female duller and with dark streaks on throat, foreneck and underparts. Bill yellowish; legs green. Young resemble female but plumage more mottled and streaked. Usually flies low, with fairly rapid wing-beats, neck withdrawn and legs extended. Secretive bird, active mostly towards the evening.
Voice. Various short, croaking notes. Spring song of male a persistent "how, how", or "woof, woof".
Distribution. Local breeding species; in many areas precise distribution inadequately known.
Habitat. Occupies reed-fringed lakes and pools, freshwater swamps, riverain zones; especially in areas where reeds are mixed with other emergent plants, or trees and shrubs, such as willows Salix and alders Alnus.
Food. Diet varies with locality and time of year but consists primarily of fish, amphibians, and insects. Prey is captured while waiting in cover, or by slowly stalking through water.
Eggs. Unmarked, ground colour white, occasionally with greenish or blue haze. Texture rough, dull. Shape subelliptical/short subelliptical. Size 36 x 26 mm (32-39 x 24-28), weight 10-14 g.