Adult nankeen night herons in Australia are observed as partially migratory, moving during winter and major events such as flood and rainfall. Populations that regularly migrate in accordance to seasonal shifts usually move north and can go as far as Papua New Guinea, but some can also arrive in New Zealand, as well as Pacific islands such as Christmas Island, Lord Howe Island, and Cocos-Keeling Island. Other populations of the nankeen night heron are classified as sedentary and hardly migrate at all.