The fasciated tiger heron (''Tigrisoma fasciatum'') is a species of

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 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 ...

. It is present in southern Central America and parts of northern and central South America, where its natural

habitat In ecology, habitat refers to the array of resources, biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species' habitat can be seen as the physical manifestation of its ...

river A river is a natural stream of fresh water that flows on land or inside Subterranean river, caves towards another body of water at a lower elevation, such as an ocean, lake, or another river. A river may run dry before reaching the end of ...

s. In 1988 the fasciated tiger heron was categorized by the IUCN as

Near Threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...

but as of 2004 they have been recategorized as

Least Concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

Taxonomy

First described as ''Ardea fasciata'' by George Such in 1825 from a specimen collected in Serro do Imbé, Brazil, the fasciated tiger heron is now one of three species assigned to the genus ''Tigrisoma''. In the past, it has sometimes been considered as a subspecies of 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 ...

. It has three subspecies: * ''T. f. fasciatum'', described by Such in 1825, is found in extreme northeastern Argentina and southeastern Brazil. * ''T. f. pallescens'', described by Claes C. Olrog in 1950, is found in northwestern Argentina. * ''T. f. salmoni'', described by

Philip Lutley Sclater Philip Lutley Sclater (4 November 1829 – 27 June 1913) was an English lawyer and zoologist. In zoology, he was an expert ornithologist, and identified the main zoogeographic regions of the world. He was Secretary of the Zoological Society ...

and

Osbert Salvin Osbert Salvin (25 February 1835 – 1 June 1898) was an English natural history, naturalist, Ornithology, ornithologist, and Herpetology, herpetologist best known for co-authoring ''Biologia Centrali-Americana'' (1879–1915) with Frederick DuC ...

in 1875, is the most widespread of the subspecies, found on the Caribbean slope in Costa Rica and Panama, east and west of the Andes in Colombia, south through eastern Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, and in northern Venezuela. The genus name ''Tigrisoma'' is a combination of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

words ''tigris'', meaning "tiger" and ''somā'', meaning "body". The

species 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 ...

''fasciatum'' is a late

Latin Latin ( or ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic languages, Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally spoken by the Latins (Italic tribe), Latins in Latium (now known as Lazio), the lower Tiber area aroun ...

word meaning "banded". Both the

scientific name In Taxonomy (biology), 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 gramm ...

and the common names refer to the fine barring on the upperparts of both adult and immature birds.

Description

At in length, the fasciated tiger heron is the smallest of the three tiger herons. The adult's crown is black, and the sides of its face are slaty gray. Its neck and upperparts are black, with widely spaced, fine, pale buff stripes. Its abdomen is grayish-cinnamon to warm brown, and its flanks are gray. Its

beak The beak, bill, or rostrum is an external anatomical structure found mostly in birds, but also in turtles, non-avian dinosaurs and a few mammals. A beak is used for pecking, grasping, and holding (in probing for food, eating, manipulating and ...

, which is shorter and stouter than those of other tiger herons, is black above and yellowish-green below, with a slightly arched culmen. Its irides are yellow.

Range and habitat

The fasciated tiger heron is found primarily in foothills, along rocky, quickly-moving streams. Its range extends from

Costa Rica Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica, is a country in Central America. It borders Nicaragua to the north, the Caribbean Sea to the northeast, Panama to the southeast, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, as well as Maritime bo ...

through northwestern

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, southeastern

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

, and Guyana; it has been recorded as a vagrant in

Nicaragua Nicaragua, officially the Republic of Nicaragua, is the geographically largest Sovereign state, country in Central America, comprising . With a population of 7,142,529 as of 2024, it is the third-most populous country in Central America aft ...

. Although it occurs from sea level to , it is generally found at higher elevations than the

where the two species occur together.

Behavior

The fasciated tiger heron is typically solitary, though multiple birds may gather at intervals of several hundred yards (meters) in favored fishing areas.

Food and feeding

It hunts along rivers, standing on the shore or on rocks in the watercourse with its neck partly extended. Its prey is primarily fish, which it catches by stabbing with its beak, though it also takes large insects.

Breeding

It builds a

platform nest A bird nest is the spot in which a bird lays and incubates its eggs and raises its young. Although the term popularly refers to a specific structure made by the bird itself—such as the grassy cup nest of the American robin or Eurasian bla ...

of sticks and lianas.

Voice

Nothing is known about the vocalizations of this species.

Conservation status and threats

When the

International Union for Conservation of Nature The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) is an international organization working in the field of nature conservation and sustainable use of natural resources. Founded in 1948, IUCN has become the global authority on the stat ...

released its first listing of the conservation status of the world's species in 1988, the fasciated tiger heron was included as a

near threatened A near-threatened species is a species which has been Conservation status, categorized as "Near Threatened" (NT) by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as that may be vulnerable to Endangered species, endangerment in the ne ...

species. The bird held that ranking until the 2000 list, when its status was changed to

least concern A least-concern species is a species that has been evaluated and categorized by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) as not being a focus of wildlife conservation because the specific species is still plentiful in the wil ...

. The estimates of its population are quite low: , some are thought to be mature adults. Its population trend is unknown, due in part to the poor quality of data regarding its numbers, and in part to uncertainty surrounding the impact that habitat modifications might have on the species. However, its range is considerable, spanning foothill regions in southern

Central America Central America is a subregion of North America. Its political boundaries are defined as bordering Mexico to the north, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the southwest. Central America is usually ...

and much of western South America, with isolated lowland populations in Guyana and eastern South America.

In human culture

There is some evidence that the fasciated tiger heron served as a food item for

indigenous people There is no generally accepted definition of Indigenous peoples, although in the 21st century the focus has been on self-identification, cultural difference from other groups in a state, a special relationship with their traditional territ ...

s in Panama (and possibly elsewhere) in the past. Remains possibly from this species have been found at multiple archeological sites around Panama's

Parita Bay Gulf of Parita or Parita Bay (, ''Bahía Parita'') is a large gulf or bay off the coast of Herrera Province, in Panama. It forms the western section of the Gulf of Panama, and is located between Puerto Obaldia, Coclé and the mouth of the Rio Gran ...

. In recent years, it has become a target of the

pet trade Wildlife trade refers to the exchange of products derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions. It can involve the trade of living or dead individuals, tis ...

, with both adults and juveniles being collected from the wild.

References

Cited works

External links

* * {{Taxonbar, from=Q248721

fasciated tiger heron The fasciated tiger heron (''Tigrisoma fasciatum'') is a species of heron in the family Ardeidae. It is present in southern Central America and parts of northern and central South America, where its natural habitat is rivers. In 1988 the fascia ...

Birds of Costa Rica Birds of Panama Birds of the Northern Andes Birds of Colombia Birds of Ecuador Birds of the Atlantic Forest

Taxonomy articles created by Polbot