4, see text Gorsachius is a genus of Old World night herons typically found near water in forested regions.

The Japanese and Malayan night herons resemble each other, being relatively short-billed and overall brown with a dark line from the throat to the upper belly.

The larger white-eared and white-backed night herons are darker, with distinctive white markings on the face and neck in the former, and an entirely black head in the latter.

They are skulking, and known to feed on crabs, crustacean, fish, insects, frogs and other small animals.

These night herons were formerly placed in the genus Nycticorax, but today all major authorities recognize them as separate.