Purple Heron Ardea purpurea

The Purple Heron is slightly smaller and significantly darker than the common Grey Heron but has similar habits (including nesting in colonial heronries). It has maroon "shoulders" which lead to its "purple" name and brown plumage on the neck. It has a wide range across Eurasia and Africa, with populations breeding in central/southern Europe and northeast Asia migrating south for winter whereas populations in Africa and south/southeast Asia are resident all year. The third photo above (right) was taken by Dr Harsha Vardhan Reddy.