Ixobrychus
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Ixobrychus
''Ixobrychus'' is a genus of bitterns, a group of wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae. It has a single representative species in each of North America, South America, Eurasia, and Australasia. The tropical species are largely resident, but the two northern species are partially migratory, with many birds moving south to warmer areas in winter. The species of the genus ''Ixobrychus'' are all small, with their four larger relatives being in the genus '' Botaurus''. They breed in large reedbeds, and can often be difficult to observe except for occasional flight views due to their secretive behaviour. Like other bitterns, they eat fish, frogs, and similar aquatic life. Taxonomy The genus ''Ixobrychus'' was introduced in 1828 by the Swedish naturalist Gustaf Johan Billberg who listed two members of the genus but did not specify the type species. This was designated as the little bittern by Witmer Stone in 1907. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek Ancient Greek i ...
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Little Bittern
The little bittern or common little bittern (''Ixobrychus minutus'') is a wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. ''Ixobrychus'' is from Ancient Greek ''ixias'', a reed-like plant and ''brukhomai'', to bellow, and ''minutus'' is Latin for "small". Distribution The little bittern is native to the Old World, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, western and southern Asia, and Madagascar. Birds from temperate regions in Europe and western Asia are migratory, wintering in Africa and further south in Asia, while those nesting in the tropics are sedentary. It is rare north of its breeding range. In Britain there were intermittent reports of breeding in the nineteenth century, and again in 1946 and 1957, but none of these records were proven. The first proven British breeding record is from Yorkshire in 1984, and the second from the Avalon Marshes in Somerset in 2010, by 2017 this species had been present in this area for nine consecutive years. Taxonomy Carl Linnae ...
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Bittern
Bitterns are birds belonging to the subfamily Botaurinae of the heron family Ardeidae. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive than other members of the family. They were called ''hæferblæte'' in Old English; the word "bittern" came to English from Old French ''butor'', itself from Gallo-Roman ''butitaurus'', a compound of Latin ''būtiō'' (buzzard) and ''taurus'' (bull). Bitterns usually frequent reed beds and similar marshy areas and feed on amphibians, reptiles, insects, and fish. Bitterns, like herons, egrets, and pelicans, fly with their necks retracted, unlike the similar storks, ibises, and spoonbill Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", refe ...s, which fly with necks outstretched. Species There are currently 14 species divided into three gene ...
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Ixobrychus Minutus 3 (Marek Szczepanek)
''Ixobrychus'' is a genus of bitterns, a group of wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae. It has a single representative species in each of North America, South America, Eurasia, and Australasia. The tropical species are largely resident, but the two northern species are partially migratory, with many birds moving south to warmer areas in winter. The species of the genus ''Ixobrychus'' are all small, with their four larger relatives being in the genus '' Botaurus''. They breed in large reedbeds, and can often be difficult to observe except for occasional flight views due to their secretive behaviour. Like other bitterns, they eat fish, frogs, and similar aquatic life. Taxonomy The genus ''Ixobrychus'' was introduced in 1828 by the Swedish naturalist Gustaf Johan Billberg who listed two members of the genus but did not specify the type species. This was designated as the little bittern by Witmer Stone in 1907. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek Ancient Greek i ...
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New Zealand Bittern
The New Zealand bittern (''Ixobrychus novaezelandiae'') is an extinct and enigmatic species of heron in the family Ardeidae. It was endemic to New Zealand and was last recorded alive in the 1890s. Common names for this species include New Zealand little bittern, spotted heron, and ''kaoriki'' (Māori). The scientific species name also has numerous junior synonyms. Taxonomy The species has sometimes been regarded as a subspecies of little bittern (''Ixobrychus minutus''), or conspecific with the black-backed bittern (''Ixobrychus dubius'') of Australia and New Guinea, though it was first described by Alexander Callender Purdie in 1871 as ''Ardeola novaezelandiae''. In 1980, New Zealand palaeontologist Peter L. Horn found subfossil bones of a bittern from Lake Poukawa, which he named ''Dupetor flavicollis''. In 1991, Philip Millener identified Horn's material as remains of the New Zealand bittern. Description Although a small bittern, the species was larger (length about 14.75 ...
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Black-backed Bittern
The black-backed bittern (''Ixobrychus dubius''), also known as the black-backed least bittern or Australian little bittern, is a little-known species of heron in the family Ardeidae found in Australia and vagrant to southern New Guinea. Formerly lumped with the little bittern, it is one of the smallest herons in the world. Taxonomy The bittern has sometimes been regarded as a subspecies of the little bittern (''Ixobrychus minutus''), or of the New Zealand little bittern (''I. novaezelandiae''). However, molecular evidence has shown it to be more closely related to the yellow bittern (''I. sinensis'') than to the African and Palaearctic forms of the little bittern, and it is now recognised as a full species. Description The species measures from , has a total weight of , averaging . This is a very small bittern and one of the smallest herons in the world. The adult male has largely black upperparts, including a black cap, while the underparts, as well as the neck, breast and ...
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Least Bittern
The least bittern (''Ixobrychus exilis'') is a small heron, the smallest member of the family Ardeidae found in the Americas. Taxonomy The least bittern was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with the herons, cranes, storks and bitterns in the genus '' Ardea'' and coined the binomial name ''Ardea exilis''. Gmelin based his description on the "minute bittern" from Jamaica that had been included by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume work ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. Latham did not specify how he had obtained the specimen. The least bittern is now one of ten species placed in the genus '' Ixobrychus'' that was introduced in 1828 by the Swedish naturalist Gustaf Johan Billberg. The genus name combines the Ancient Greek ''ixias'', a reed-like plant and ''brukhomai'', to bellow. The specific epithet ''exilis'' is Latin meaning ...
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Cinnamon Bittern
The cinnamon bittern (''Ixobrychus cinnamomeus'') or chestnut bittern is a small Old World bittern, breeding in tropical and subtropical Asia from India east to China and Indonesia. It is mainly resident, but some northern birds migrate short distances. Taxonomy The cinnamon bittern was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it with herons, cranes, egrets and bitterns in the genus ''Ardea'' and coined the binomial name ''Ardea cinnamomea''. Gmelin based his description on the "Chinese heron" that had been included by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume ''A General Synopsis of Birds''. Latham had based his own description on a partial specimen in the British Museum. The cinnamon bittern is now placed with nine other species in the genus '' Ixobrychus'' that was introduced in 1828 by the Swedish naturalist Gustaf Johan Billberg. The ge ...
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Ixobrychus Involucris
The stripe-backed bittern (''Ixobrychus involucris'') is a species of heron in the family Ardeidae which is found in South America and Trinidad. Description The stripe-backed bittern is very small, averaging around in length. It is darker brown with a white and brown striped pattern along the back, and a black stripe from head to tail, while the underbelly is lighter brown and striped with white. This bittern calls through distinct, low-pitched ', or through gargling. Distribution and habitat The stripe-backed bittern is distributed in large patches across South America, located in Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and the island of Trinidad to the north, and in Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Brazil to the south, inhabiting reed-beds and sedge. Behaviour and ecology The stripe-backed bittern is a solitary animal. It generally feeds at night on small fish, crustaceans and insects such as dragonflies and water beetles. It is not a strong flier, and ...
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Von Schrenck's Bittern
Von Schrenck's bittern or Schrenck's bittern (''Ixobrychus eurhythmus'') is a small bittern (birds of the subfamily Botaurinae). It is named after Leopold von Schrenck, the 19th-century Russian naturalist. Description The male is uniformly chestnut above, and buff below and on the wing covert feathers. The female and juvenile are chestnut all over with white speckles above, and white streaks below. When in flight, it shows black flight feathers and tail. It is a small species at in length, with a short neck, longish yellow beak and yellow legs. Distribution and habitat It breeds in China and Siberia from March to July, and Japan from May to August. It winters in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Laos, passing through the rest of Southeast Asia. It is an exceptionally rare vagrant as far west as Europe, with a single sighting in Italy in 1912. Behaviour and ecology Von Schrenck's bittern breeds in reed beds and tends to emerge at dusk to forage for prey. Conservation ...
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