55-65 cm, sexes similar. White plumage with long feathers on the neck and back during the breeding season. Present throughout the year round, nesting in colonies in lagoon thickets, sometimes associated with other species of herons and cormorants. Its search for food, consisting of small fish, amphibians and large invertebrates, takes it to a wide range of habitats from the shallow waters of beaches to the lattice of drainage canals. Often numerous on the tidal flats. It is scarce along the high coastline.