White-bellied Heron

The white-bellied heron, also called the imperial heron, is a large heron of undisturbed rivers and wetlands, 127cm tall and the second largest heron. It is mostly dark grey with a white throat and belly, and long silvery or whitish plumes on the rear crown and lower foreneck. The face is greenish grey, the bill black and greenish at the base and tip, and the legs dull grey. Juveniles are browner above with a paler bill and legs (Wikipedia, general species account).

It lives in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in north-east India and Bhutan, east to northern Myanmar. In Bhutan it occurs in low-elevation riverside habitats below 1,700m, in the basin of the Sankosh River and its tributaries below 1,500m. Breeding has been recorded in the Sankosh and Mangdechhu basins, in nests in chir pine, champak and bayur trees at 400 to 1,430m. When disturbed it calls with a deep croak. Adults roost alone and juveniles in pairs.