Cheryl-Samantha Owen / Green-backed heron (Butorides striatus) jumping, Aldabra Atoll, Seychelles

Juan Carlos Munoz / Great Egrets (Ardea alba) territorial fight above nest colony, Everglades National Park, Florida, USA, February.

Juan Carlos Munoz / Black-crowned Night Heron (Nycticorax nycticorax) portrait. Everglades National Park, Florida, USA, February.

Rolf Nussbaumer / Tricoloured heron {Egretta tricolor} on mangrove, Sanibel Is, Florida, USA

Hanne & Jens Eriksen / Striated heron (Butorides striata) with Scorpionfish (Scorpaenidae) in beak, standing on rock. Oman, November

Ann & Steve Toon / Greenbacked heron (Butorides striatus) peering from perch, Zimanga private game reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Ann & Steve Toon / Greenbacked heron (Butorides striatus) walking through water, Zimanga private game reserve, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.

Tony Heald / Green-backed heron (Butorides striata) Kruger National Park, South Africa.

John Shaw / Striated heron (Butorides striata) standing on giant Amazon waterlily leaf (Victoria amazonica). Porto Jofre, Pantanal, Brazil. September.

Lynn M. Stone / Great Egret (Ardea alba) and Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) at dawn, low tide, at edge of Red Mangrove Tree (Rhizophora mangle) forest, Florida, USA. November.

Juergen Freund / Eastern great egret, (Ardea alba modesta) amongst the mangrove roots. Daintree , Queensland, Australia

Tui De Roy / Striated heron (Butorides striata) with crab prey, Punta Espinosa, Fernandina Island, Galapagos