Physical Description:

A small heron that appears uniformly dark at a distance with slender, slightly down-curved bill, which is blue, tipped with black.

Adults: Head and neck purple-maroon, rest of plumage slate blue; eyes yellow, legs and feet dark.

Immature: Unique among all herons in being snow white in immature plumage with a tinge of blue in primaries. Wears white plumage first summer, fall, and into winter, but begins molting during first February into blue of adult.