The Malayan night heron has been found in India, Sri Lanka, Brunei, Nepal, Bangladesh, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Japan.

[5] Males have been reported to have deeper blue lores and a longer crest compared to females during the breeding season.

[11] Birds with immature plumage attempt to disrupt pair bonding of adults, and sometimes immature birds are seen bonded with adults though their ability to build nests seemed poor.

In one observed instance, people assisted an immature-adult pair by building a base for a poorly constructed nest.

Birds in immature plumage appeared to be sexually mature[11] Its territorial call is deep oo notes.

[12] A study of its pellets found reptiles, snails, chilopods, arachnids, crabs and insects.

[3] An instance of predation of the Brown Anole Anolis sagrei has been observed.