I used to have a lot of difficulty identifying the Javan Pond-heron Ardeola speciosa as during the winter migration we usually had eclipse birds which were quite difficult to tell  apart from visiting eclipse Chinese Pond-heron.   Nowadays it is quite possible to see the Javan in breeding plumage in the padi fields of Kota Belud in north-west Sabah.  I took this picture last month and there were quite a few others in breeding plumage.  I also saw them in the padi fields outside of Kota Kinabalu recently.  Now we just have to confirm whether they have taken residency.