Little egret

Occupies much of sub-Saharan Africa, largely excluding the equatorial lowland forest of the DRC and west Africa. In southern Africa, it is uncommon to locally common in central and southern Mozambique, Zimbabwe, northern and eastern Botswana, patches of Namibia and much of South Africa, largely excluding the arid Northern Cape. It generally prefers the shallow margins of rivers, lakes, estuaries, pans, marshes and saltpans, but it also moves into mangroves, open coastal flats and man-made habitats such as sewage works, canals and dams.