A solitary and secretive bird, the green heron is stocky, dark coloured and small for a heron. The adult green heron has a dark rufous neck, grey belly and dark, iridescent, greenish-blue back. The upper mandible of the bill is dark and the legs are bright orange. The juvenile has a brown-and-white streaked neck, slight crest on its dark head and prominently light-tipped wing coverts. Yellow spectacle-shaped markings surround the eye and extend to the bridge of the bill. These markings are present, but less pronounced, in the adult.