''Tigrisoma'' is a

genus Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...

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 ...

s in the family

Ardeidae 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 ...

. The

was erected by the English naturalist

William Swainson William Swainson Fellow of the Linnean Society, FLS, Fellow of the Royal Society, FRS (8 October 1789 – 6 December 1855), was an English ornithologist, Malacology, malacologist, Conchology, conchologist, entomologist and artist. Life Swains ...

in 1827, with the

rufescent tiger heron The rufescent tiger heron (''Tigrisoma lineatum'') is a species of heron in the family Ardeidae. It is found in wetlands from Central America through much of South America. Taxonomy The rufescent tiger heron was described by the French polymat ...

(''Tigrisoma lineatum'') as 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 ...

. The genus name combines the

Ancient Greek Ancient Greek (, ; ) includes the forms of the Greek language used in ancient Greece and the classical antiquity, ancient world from around 1500 BC to 300 BC. It is often roughly divided into the following periods: Mycenaean Greek (), Greek ...

''tigris'', meaning "tiger" and ''sôma'', meaning "body".

Species

Three species are placed in the genus: Beautiful in flight, with great markings on the feathers. Nest mostly resembles a jumbled pile of twigs with openings large enough to allow eggs to fall through occasionally. Call sounds like a sick cow. A contrast in elegance and coarseness.

References

Bird genera Taxonomy articles created by Polbot Taxa named by William Swainson {{Pelecaniformes-stub