Ardeinae (subfamily) en

Members of a subfamily containing about 60 species of long-legged wading birds that are widely distributed over the world, but are most common in the tropics. They commonly stand with neck bent in a characteristic S-shape, feed while wading quietly in the shallow waters of pools, marshes, and swamps, and nest in rough platforms of sticks constructed in bushes or trees near water; the nests usually are grouped in colonies called heronries.