120-145 cm, adults with a typical red-pink plumage while the young are grey. Present throughout the year but with very numbers ranging from a few individuals to several hundred; the trend is upwards. To date there has be no known nesting, which has instead taken place in the lagoon of Venice. It especially frequents the larger valli di pesca (fishing reserves) such as valle Noghera, Cavanata and Artalina, while it is scarcer in areas subject to tide. Absent along the high coast and in inland wetlands.