Goliath Heron

One of the birds I really wanted to see in Uganda was a Goliath heron. I saw exactly one. I was on a boat ride along the White Nile between Paraa and Murchison Falls, shortly after we started, near the Paraa Lodge on the north side of the river. 

Illustration from Birds of the World. 

The Goliath heron is the world's largest heron. It reaches a height between 3 feet 11 inches and 5 feet. Males and females look similar with an overall plumage of slate gray and chestnut. The head, face, back and sides of the neck are chestnut. The chin, throat, foreneck and upper breast are white with black streaks across the foreneck and upper breast. The lower breast and belly are buff with black streaks. The back and upper wings are slate-gray with a chestnut shoulder patch at the bend of the wings when they are closed. The upper mandible is black and the lores and orbital areas are yellow with a greenish tinge. The eyes are yellow and the legs and feet are black. The heron that looks most like it, the purple heron, is much smaller. 

Range from Birds of the World.