Little Egret

Little Egret (Egretta garzetta) is a small white heron with a slender black bill, long black legs and contrasting yellow feet in the widespread western form. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It feeds actively in shallow water and on exposed ground, taking fish and other small animals, and breeds colonially in stick nests placed in trees, bushes or reedbeds. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).