Malayan Night Heron

Bizarre-looking bird with the squat, staring appearance of a toad. Adult is dark cinnamon-brown with a black crown and a black stripe running from the throat down to the breast. Juvenile is very different, with gray-brown barring all over the body (darkest on the crown). Breeding birds have an especially bright blue facial skin patch between the bill and the eyes; the patch is faded in non-breeders, and yellowish in juveniles. Japanese Night-Heron is similar but averages duller brown with less contrasting black patches. Typically nocturnal and furtive in forested areas, but can frequently be tame and active during the day as well.

The Malayan night heron in Sri Lanka lives in dense forests, marshes, streams, and swamps. They can be found at elevations up to 1,800 meters.

The Malayan Night Heron's diet includes earthworms, frogs, beetles, mollusks, lizards, snakes, and sometimes small fish.