Striated Heron
Butorides striata

Striated Herons are small herons (around 43 cm) that are found from Africa, through Asia and on to Australia. They occur around the northern and eastern coasts of Australia and are fairly common north of Sydney. They feed on small fish, crustaceans and molluscs, which they catch by actively stalking their prey as well as the more usual heron method of standing very still before pouncing. They come in two colour forms in Australia, with more southern birds being greyer and northern birds being more rufous. In the Cairns area, both forms and intermediate plumages can be found.