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The adult is slate-grey, which allows it to blend in with the hardened lava. The back feathers typically have a silvery sheen and it has a short crest on its head. When breeding, the heron has a black beak and bright orange legs, but these fade to grey after the breeding season.

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The lava heron tends to be monogamous and they breed throughout the year, most often after heavy rainfall. The parents build the nest together, within the territory of the male bird, in a spot off the ground in bushes or mangroves. They typically lay one to three eggs at a time and may mate up to three times a year.

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Unlike most herons, these birds nest in solitary pairs in either the lower branches of mangrove trees or under lava rocks. .

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The lava heron stalks small crabs and fish slowly before quickly spearing and eating them. They have also been known to eat the flies that gather near cacti.

Lava herons are typically seen hunched over and they have a sharp alarm call. These birds have little fear of humans.

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Although they take prey such as fishes, frogs, and mollusks, this bird is a crustacean specialist and its range and seasonal status reflect the availability of prey such as land and shore crabs and crayfish.

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This is a migratory species wintering on coasts in Africa, South America, south Asia into Australasia and southern North America. It is also a coastal bird during migration.

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If an observer approaches too closely, the bird gives a loud "tattling" call and flies away, spooking the other shorebirds on the rocks. The name "Wandering" refers to the wide distribution of this species: in winter it is found along Pacific coastlines from North America to Australia, including innumerable islands in the southwest Pacific. In summer, for a change of pace, it goes to high mountains in Alaska and northwestern Canada

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Both parents tend and aggressively defend the young. The female usually leaves about 11 days after the young hatch, while the male stays with the chicks until they can fly, about 23-31 days.

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