Purple Heron (Ardea purpurea) is a large bird, standing 80 cm tall, and has a 120 cm wingspan. It has a snake-like neck, which is usually held in a prominent kink. The bird can be identified by its darker reddish-brown plumage. It has a narrower yellow bill. Purple Herons are shy and solitary hunters, and appear to hunt mostly at night continuing into the early morning. Their slim bills are large and strong enough to kill large snakes.
Purple Herons feed mostly on fish, but also eats insects, amphibians, and occasionally shellfish, small mammals, reptiles and small birds. The bird prefers to roost in coastal areas (mangroves, marshes and estuaries). It usually nests in dense reed-beds and thick vegetation where they pull down the reeds to make a platform. Sometimes the bird build nest in trees on a platform of twigs.
