Chinese Pond Heron

The Chinese pond heron is a small heron about 47cm long, with white wings, a yellow bill with a black tip, and yellow eyes and legs. In the breeding season it is red, blue and white, and at other times greyish-brown flecked with white. It is one of six pond herons and forms a probable superspecies with the Indian pond heron to the west and the Javan pond heron to the south (Wikipedia, general species account).

It is essentially a lowland bird of shallow fresh and saltwater wetlands and ponds in China and neighbouring East Asia. It eats insects, fish and crustaceans, often nests in mixed heronries, and lays three to six blue-green eggs. It is prone to wander, and strays have been found well outside its usual range. SoIB 2023 lists it as resident and a summer migrant in India but gives no trend or priority (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).