A member of the herons and bitterns family (Ardeidae), and found in the same habitat with the purple heron is the small (18 inch long) buff squacco heron, Ardeola ralloides. This bird hunts its prey, chiefly insects, not only in shallow, reed-grown waters, but also in fields and pastures far from any body of water.

It nests colonially, usually in company with other herons, in trees, reeds or in low-growing tangles of vegetation. The nest is made either of twigs or reeds, depending on the site. The spring plumage is warm buff, the wings, tail, breast and belly white, the darker mantle possessing long hair-like plumes which cover the tail and are spread wide when the bird is engaged in courting or is agitated. It nests in southern Europe, south-west Asia and all Africa except the Sahara, wintering in Africa.