Adult: Long-legged wading bird. Glossy black primaries seen in flight. Head and neck naked, blackish. Bill is thick and long, tapering and decurved near tip. Pink feet.

Immature: Like adult. Gray feathers on head. Nape and neck are grayer than adult. Bill yellowish.

Habitat: Salt and freshwater marshes. Mudflats and wooded swamps. Often seen in roadside ditches.

A Florida resident.

Text by Mary Jean Rogers, West Volusia Audubon.

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