This is a stocky paddy bird, with a long and stout bill, often seen in the evening. Th adults have a an ashy grey above with a glistening black back with some plumes intermixed (second d photo). The young bird is streaked brown (first photo), looking similar to a paddy bird, except the it is larger. What made me suspect that the first bird is a younger one is the wire patch around its eyes and is more brown than the second bird. I might be mistaken as I hardly have any skills in bird identification.
What initiated an interest in this bird is that they are often seen alone. They are night birds and are often seen towards the evening near waterbodies. There are a few in the paddy field in front of our cottage, where there is a stream and flowing water to find feed. They practice community breeding in colonies of birds on large trees and seem to return to the same tree for nesting. They spend their day time as a colony of birds on large trees in dry land and leave one by one for their nocturnal food finding to their accustomed feeding ground.
They have a complexion and rhythm that distinguish them from other water birds. They are often heard at dusk around our cottage with their loud, raucous kwaark!
M.C.Mathew(text and photo)
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