Voice: Usually silent, except for a deep kroa-kr when taking off.
Habits: Found in the company of other egrets, mostly in freshwater marshes and fields, but also on tidal mudflats and along estuaries. Generally less numerous than the Great Egret and Little Egret. Walks slowly in the search of small fish, frogs and insects.
LITTLE EGRET
Egretta garzetta 60 cm F: Ardeidae
Description: A small and slender egret. Note diagnostic thin, black bill and yellow feet. Feet black in Javan (nigripes) race which occurs in Singapore and Malaysia.
Voice: Usually silent, except for croaking calls at its nest.
Habits: The most common of the egrets, numerous at both freshwater and tidal wetlands. An attractive bird that feeds by walking quickly or running through shallow water, stirring up and chasing aquatic prey. Flocks disperse while feeding, but congregate at evening roosts and in breeding colonies.
BLACK-CROWNED NIGHT-HERON
Nycticorax nycticorax 61 cm F: Ardeidae
Description: Unmistakable; legs red during breeding. Immature bird is brown, dotted with white.
Voice: A penetrating, deep wo-ok when taking off.
Habits: Spends the day roosting in trees above water in mangroves or swamps. In early evening flocks disperse, flying slowly, high in the sky, on their way to feed in ponds and marshes during the night, returning during the morning. Huge breeding colonies in the region have been known to contain tens of thousands of birds.
MALAYAN NIGHT-HERON
Gorsachius melanolophus 48 cm F: Ardeidae
Description: Photo shows immature plumage. The adult is a uniformly dark rufous colour with a blackish cap, missing on the similar Japanese Night-Heron, G. goisagi which is sometimes seen in the region.
Voice: A series of deep oo notes.
Habits: Very secretive, staying inside flooded forests and overgrown lowland swamps. Also seen near cultivation during migration. Feeds mainly on insects, molluscs, small amphibians, reptiles and sometimes fish. Nocturnal and not often observed; breeding habits and movements little studied.
YELLOW BITTERN
Ixobrychus sinensis 38 cm F: Ardeidae
Description: Small, slender, pale bittern. Note diagnostic black wingtips. Immature bird streaked with brown.
Voice: A short kakak-kakak when taking off.
Habits: Prefers freshwater swampland habitat. Lives among tail, dense marsh and riverside vegetation, where it climbs around at the bottom of the reeds, stalking aquatic invertebrates and tiny fish. Secretive and crepuscular in habit; sometimes seen clearly when it flies briefly out of the vegetation.
SCHRENCK'S BITTERN
Ixobrychus eurhythmus 38 cm F: Ardeidae
Description: Photo shows female. Male has uniformly pale brown under-parts contrasting with dark brown upper-parts.
Voice: Low squawks in flight.
Habits: As a resident, it is most common near the coast, where it nests in low mangrove trees. During migration it occurs in all types of wetland, including freshwater marshes and canals. Sometimes walks conspicuously out in the open along the water's edge. Not numerous anywhere within its range.
CINNAMON BITTERN
Ixobrychus cinnamomeus 38 cm F: Ardeidae
Description: Photo shows female. Male has uniformly pale rufous under-parts and darker upper-parts with no scales. In flight, uniformly rufous wings are characteristic.
Voice: Sometimes a low croak on take-off.
Habits: Found in freshwater swamps and along lakesides with some vegetation cover, never in tidal areas. An adaptable species that seems to prefer flooded grasslands and extensive paddy fields. Numerous, but never abundant. Not easy to observe as it searches for small aquatic prey near cover. Usually seen flying low over the grass before dropping back into cover.
BLACK BITTERN
Dupetor flavicollis 54 cm F: Ardeidae
Description: Note very dark plumage and some pale streaks on neck; in flight appears all black.
Voice: Sometimes a deep croak on take-off; also a booming call during breeding.
Habits: A wetland bird that prefers wooded swamps with tall reeds and trees nearby. Also visits flooded rainforest and tidal areas during migration. Rarely seen in open fields. Feeds secretively on fish, frogs and invertebrates, usually during low light periods. Often spotted making short flights and sometimes perching in trees.
GREAT BITTERN
Botaurus
