- Lifespan
- 15–20 years in the wild
- Size & Weight
- 55–65 cm tall, wingspan 88–106 cm; 400–550 g
- Habitat
- Shallow freshwater and brackish wetlands including reed beds, lakes, marshes, and coastal lagoons.
- UK Distribution
- Increasingly common across southern and central England, Wales, and occasionally Scotland. Formerly absent, now present year-round with populations boosted by continental migrants in autumn and winter.
- Diet
- Small fish, amphibians, crustaceans, and aquatic insects caught by wading and striking with its bill.
- Prey
- Fish (particularly sticklebacks and gobies), frogs, newts, shrimp, and dragonfly larvae
- Predators
- Foxes, mink, and corvids (crows); eggs and chicks vulnerable to gulls and herons
- Mating Season
- March to August
- Breeding
- Clutch of 3–5 pale blue-green eggs; incubation period 21–25 days; single brood per year; nests colonially in trees or reed beds
- Behaviour
- Solitary or loosely gregarious hunter, often seen standing motionless in shallow water before striking. Highly vocal during breeding season with croaking calls. More active and diurnal than Grey Herons.