Similar in size to a Cattle Egret with white wings and breast, and a buff-coloured back. Long lax feathers from the neck are striped black and white. They occur in wetlands with abundant vegetation where they feed on aquatic invertebartes, small fish and amphibians, always on their own. Breeding occurs in the Montijo reservoir and at Arrocampo. They can sometimes been seen in the floodplains of the Guadiana.