This species inhabits inland wetlands including rivers, freshwater and brackish lakes, densely vegetated marshes, reservoirs, irrigation ponds and sewage treatment plants (Richardson 1990, Jennings 2010, Aspinall and Porter 2011). During migration, it may also be found in wadis (Richardson 1990). Its diet in the UAE is not well known; elsewhere it is an opportunistic feeder taking fish, frogs, tadpoles, turtles, snakes, lizards, insects, spiders, crustaceans, molluscs, leeches, small rodents, bats and the eggs and chicks of other bird species (del Hoyo et al. 1992, Kushlan and Hancock 2005). The species is largely crepuscular and nocturnal, but may feed diurnally, especially during the breeding season (del Hoyo et al. 1992). It breeds during mid to late summer; nesting sites may be used in consecutive years (Jennings 2010). There is not much known about its breeding biology in the UAE or in Arabia. Usually, the nest is platform constructed of sticks and vegetation placed 2-50 m above water or on dry ground near water in trees, bushes, reedbeds, on cliff ledges and on the ground in protected sites (del Hoyo et al. 1992, Snow and Perrins 1998, Kushlan and Hancock 2005). The species nests close together in single- and mixed-species colonies (del Hoyo et al. 1992).