White faced Heron., Bernard Spragg Photo

Self introduced from Australia the white-faced Heron is now the most common heron, having benefited from the widespread conversion of forest to farmland...This slim bluish-grey heron has a white face, chin and upper throat, and a black bill and greenish-yellow legs. Strap-shaped plumes which form in the breeding season are long and pale grey on the back and short and pinkish brown on the chest. The call is a guttural croak...The diet is fish, frogs and tadpoles, aquatic and pasture insects, spiders, earthworms and mice.