The white-backed night heron (''Calherodius leuconotus'') is a species of medium-sized

heron Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 75 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genus ''Botaurus'' are referred to as bi ...

in the family Ardeidae, found in

sub-Saharan Africa Sub-Saharan Africa is the area and regions of the continent of Africa that lie south of the Sahara. These include Central Africa, East Africa, Southern Africa, and West Africa. Geopolitically, in addition to the list of sovereign states and ...

Taxonomy

The white-backed night heron was formally described in 1827 by the German naturalist Johann Wagler under the

binomial name In taxonomy, binomial nomenclature ("two-term naming system"), also called binary nomenclature, is a formal system of naming species of living things by giving each a name composed of two parts, both of which use Latin grammatical forms, altho ...

''Ardea leuconotus''. He specified the type locality as

Senegambia The Senegambia (other names: Senegambia region or Senegambian zone,Barry, Boubacar, ''Senegambia and the Atlantic Slave Trade'', (Editors: David Anderson, Carolyn Brown; trans. Ayi Kwei Armah; contributors: David Anderson, American Council of Le ...

. This species was formerly placed with the Japanese night heron and the Malayan night heron in the genus '' Gorsachius''. Based on the results of a molecular genetic study published in 2023, it is now the only species placed in the resurrected genus ''Calherodius'' that had originally been introduced in 1855 by the French naturalist Charles Bonaparte. Bonaparte specified the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

as ''Ardea cucullata'' Lichtenstein which is now considered to be a

junior synonym In taxonomy, the scientific classification of living organisms, a synonym is an alternative scientific name for the accepted scientific name of a taxon. The botanical and zoological codes of nomenclature treat the concept of synonymy differently. ...

of ''Ardea leuconotus'' Wagler. The species is treated as

monotypic In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group (taxon) that contains only one immediately subordinate taxon. A monotypic species is one that does not include subspecies or smaller, infraspecific taxa. In the case of genera, the term "unisp ...

: no

subspecies In Taxonomy (biology), biological classification, subspecies (: subspecies) is a rank below species, used for populations that live in different areas and vary in size, shape, or other physical characteristics (Morphology (biology), morpholog ...

are recognised.

Description

The white-backed night heron is in length with a black head and a short crest, or prominent feather display on the top of its head. The heron has large red eyes with white-ringed markings around them, and the

lore Lore may refer to: * Folklore, acquired knowledge or traditional beliefs * Oral lore or oral tradition, orally conveyed cultural knowledge and traditions Places * Loré, former French commune * Loré (East Timor), a city and subdistrict in La ...

s, or the region behind the eye, are a pale yellow hue. The throat feathers are white, whereas the neck and breast are

rufous Rufous () is a color that may be described as reddish-brown or brownish- red, as of rust or oxidised iron. The first recorded use of ''rufous'' as a color name in English was in 1782. However, the color is also recorded earlier in 1527 as a d ...

, or a reddish-brown hue. There is a notable white triangular patch along the back formed by the white scapulars, or small feathers, on the shoulder of the bird. The belly feathers are a whitish-brown and the legs are yellow. An immature heron can be identified by its streaked breast and the white spots on the upper-wing coverts. Chicks are covered with olive-brown down.

Distribution and habitat

The white-backed night heron is located throughout central and southern Africa, with a range estimated at . Its primary habitat is dense forests with neighboring waterways, particularly streams, lakes,

mangrove A mangrove is a shrub or tree that grows mainly in coastal saline water, saline or brackish water. Mangroves grow in an equatorial climate, typically along coastlines and tidal rivers. They have particular adaptations to take in extra oxygen a ...

s and

marsh In ecology, a marsh is a wetland that is dominated by herbaceous plants rather than by woody plants.Keddy, P.A. 2010. Wetland Ecology: Principles and Conservation (2nd edition). Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK. 497 p More in genera ...

es.

Behavior and ecology

The white-backed night heron can be found living individually or in pairs. Nocturnal by nature, they roost in the dense vegetation of marshes and forests during the daylight hours, often nesting high within the trees. Their nests are well-hidden, usually built in vegetation near water and sometimes in reedbeds, mangroves, rocks and caves. The nest is built resembling a platform of sticks or reeds, wide. They usually breed during the rainy season or early in the dry season. There are two to three greenish-white eggs in a clutch, and incubation lasts roughly 24 to 26 days. The chicks leave the nest after six to seven weeks. The white-backed night heron seems to be sedentary, but it has been observed in some circumstances to have migrated to locations with heavy rain. White-backed night herons are known foragers, meaning they search for food primarily along waterways. They have been observed to eat

fish A fish (: fish or fishes) is an aquatic animal, aquatic, Anamniotes, anamniotic, gill-bearing vertebrate animal with swimming fish fin, fins and craniate, a hard skull, but lacking limb (anatomy), limbs with digit (anatomy), digits. Fish can ...

amphibian Amphibians are ectothermic, anamniote, anamniotic, tetrapod, four-limbed vertebrate animals that constitute the class (biology), class Amphibia. In its broadest sense, it is a paraphyletic group encompassing all Tetrapod, tetrapods, but excl ...

mollusk Mollusca is a phylum of protostomic invertebrate animals, whose members are known as molluscs or mollusks (). Around 76,000 extant species of molluscs are recognized, making it the second-largest animal phylum after Arthropoda. The ...

s and

insect Insects (from Latin ') are Hexapoda, hexapod invertebrates of the class (biology), class Insecta. They are the largest group within the arthropod phylum. Insects have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body (Insect morphology#Head, head, ...

s. Though usually quiet, they let out a loud ''kroak'' call when alarmed and a ''taash'' call when disturbed.

Status

The population of the white-backed night heron is believed to be stable because it does not appear to undergo significant population declines or experience any notable threats. Due to these factors and its large range, the

IUCN Red List The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, also known as the IUCN Red List or Red Data Book, founded in 1964, is an inventory of the global conservation status and extinction risk of biological ...

has assessed the species to be of least concern. The species is currently experiencing a small number of threats, including habitat loss in southern Africa and hunting in Nigeria, where they are used for traditional medicine.

References

{{Taxonbar, from1=Q763338, from2=Q28065727, from3=Q28065722 Ardeidae Birds of Sub-Saharan Africa Birds described in 1827 Taxonomy articles created by Polbot