India GO
Western reef heron
A slate-grey or white heron of tidal mudflats and rocky shores, running in short dashes after fish in the shallows.
👀 How to recognise it
Comes in two colour forms, dark and white; both have a heavy yellow-based bill and yellow feet. The dark form has a white throat stripe.
Where to see it
Goa
The Dr Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary on Chorao island covers 178 hectares of mangrove at the Mandovi mouth and was declared a protected area in 1988; the reef heron is one of its regular residents.
Dr. Salim Ali Bird Sanctuary (Chorao) · Morjim · Campal Gardens & the Riverfront (often)
Mumbai
The heron that works the same rocks as the fishermen at low tide, and one of the easiest coastal birds to watch from a beach at any hour.
Thane Creek Flamingo Sanctuary · Juhu Beach (often)
Udupi
Tidal rock platforms of the kind exposed at Kaup and St Mary's are its exact habitat: the birds follow the tide out and work the pools left behind.
Kaup Beach & Lighthouse (often) · St Mary's Island (often) · Delta Beach, Kodi Bengre (often)