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The white-faced heron is found throughout most of Australasia, including New Guinea, the islands of Torres Strait, Indonesia, New Caledonia, New Zealand, the islands of the Subantarctic, and all but the driest areas of Australia. It is mostly a winter visitor to the Northern Territory and is the only heron recorded breeding in Tasmania. The white-faced heron is locally nomadic and found in both fresh and salty wetlands, shores, tidal mudflats, or in garden fish-ponds. It is protected in Australia under the National Parks and Wildlife Act 1974.