The Indian Pond Heron or Paddybird (Ardeola grayii) is a small heron. It is of Old World origins, breeding in southern Iran and east to Pakistan,India, Burma, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka. br br They are widespread and common but can be easily missed when they stalk prey at the edge of small water-bodies or even when they roost close to human habitations. They are however distinctive when they take off with bright white wings flashing in contrast to the cryptic streaked olive and brown colours of the body. Their camouflage is so excellent that they will close approach before taking to flight, a behaviour which has resulted in folk names and beliefs that the birds are short-sighted or blind.br br They appear stocky with a short neck, short thick bill and buff-brown back. In summer, adults have long neck feathers. Its appearance is transformed from their dull colours when they take to flight, when the white of the wings makes them very prominent. It is very similar to the Squacco Heron, Ardeola ralloides, but is darker-backed.br br They are very common in India, and are usually solitary foragers but numbers of them may sometimes feed in close proximity during the dry seasons when small wetlands have a high concentration of prey. They are semi-colonial breeders. They may also forage at garbage heaps. During dry seasons, they sometimes take to foraging on well watered lawns or even dry grassland. When foraging, they allow close approach and flush only at close range. They sometimes form communal roosts, often in avenue trees over busy urban areas.br br The Sundarbans is the largest single block of tidal halophytic mangrove forest in the world. The Sundarbans is a UNESCO World Heritage Site covering parts of Khulna, Satkhira and Bagerhat District in southwestern Bangladesh.The Sundarbans provides a unique ecosystem and a rich wildlife habitat.br br Located in Bangladesh, the Sundarbans borders the Sundarbans National Park in the Indian state of West Bengal. Sundarbans is divided into three protected forests in Bangladesh namely Sundarbans South, East and West Wildlife Sanctuary. This region is densely covered by mangrove forests, and is one of the largest reserves for the Bengal tiger.br br source - Wikipediabr br This footage is part of the professionally-shot broadcast stock footage archive of Wilderness Films India Ltd., the largest collection of HD imagery from South Asia. The Wilderness Films India collection comprises of tens of thousands of hours of high quality broadcast imagery, mostly shot on HDCAM SR 1080i High Definition, Alexa, SR, HDV and XDCAM. Write to us for licensing this footage on a broadcast format, for use in your production! We are happy to be commissioned to film for you or else provide you with broadcast crewing and production solutions across South Asia. We pride ourselves in bringing the best of India and South Asia to the world... Reach us at rupindang @ gmail . com and admin@wildfilmsindia.com.