Habitat selection by herons, egrets and bitterns (Ardeidae) is influenced by the extent and quality of surrounding wetlands in natural landscapes. However, these relationships may be different in highly modified urban environments where inter- and intra-specific competition could be increased. To assess the relative effects of habitat and competition on habitat selection by ardeids in an urban landscape, all known colonies in the densely populated coastal region around Macao Special Administrative Region, China, were surveyed. The relationship among ardeid communities and patch-level habitat variables were investigated using multivariate and co-occurrence analyses. Ardeid species (n = 12) were recorded during 2006–2009. Habitat patches were categorized into three types based on 10 habitat factors using redundancy analysis. The area of adjacent open land (r₁₃= 0.772, P = 0.002) and patch area (r₁₃= 0.670, P = 0.012) were the major indicators of species richness and abundance, respectively. However, the factor that influenced habitat selection the most was perimeter-area ratio (marginal effect: λ1 = 0.33). The lack of evidence for competition in the co-occurrence analysis suggested that the spatial pattern of the ardeid community in Macao Special Administrative Region, China, was primarily driven by variation in habitat features that satisfy species-specific requirements.