A tall, slender white heron with a long neck and noticeably black legs, a useful feature for telling it from other egrets. It is widespread and fairly common worldwide. Bill colour varies by region: consistently yellow in the Americas, but turning black in the breeding season elsewhere. Found in all kinds of shallow wetlands, from ponds and marshes to tidal mudflats, it hunts by slowly stalking through the water. Usually seen alone, though it may gather in numbers where food is abundant. It nests in colonies, often alongside other egrets and herons.