Botaurus

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Botaurus
Botaurus lentiginosus 28079.JPG
American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus)
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Subfamily: Botaurinae
Genus: Botaurus
Stephens, 1819
Type species
Ardea stellaris
Linnaeus, 1758

Botaurus is a genus of bitterns, a group of wading birds in the heron family Ardeidae. The genus includes species that were previously placed in the genus Ixobrychus.

Contents

Taxonomy

The genus Botaurus was introduced in 1819 by the English naturalist James Francis Stephens. [1] Stephens did not specify the type species but this was designated as Ardea stellaris Linnaeus (Eurasian bittern) by George Gray in 1840. [2] [3] The name Botaurus is Medieval Latin for a bittern. The word combines Latin bos meaning "oxen" (compare butire "to boom") and taurus meaning "bull". [4] In describing the Eurasian bittern Stephens wrote: "At this period the male makes a singular noise, which is compared with the deep bellowing of a bull, and is continued for about two months: ...". [1] [5]

The genus formerly contained fewer species. Molecular genetic studies found that the genus Ixobrychus was paraphyletic with respect to Botaurus. [6] [7] To resolve the non-monophyly the genus Ixobrychus was merged into Botaurus which has priority. [8] [9]

The bitterns are large chunky, heavily streaked brown birds which breed in large reed beds. Almost uniquely for predatory birds, the female rears the young alone. [10] They are secretive and well-camouflaged, and despite their size they can be difficult to observe except for occasional flight views. They eat fish, frogs, and similar aquatic life. [11]

Species

The genus contains 14 species This includes the New Zealand bittern which is now extinct. [9]

ImageScientific nameCommon NameDistribution
Eurasian Bittern - Torrile - Italy 4528 (15409347121).jpg Botaurus stellaris Eurasian bittern Europe and Asia from the British Isles, Sweden and Finland eastwards to Sakhalin Island in eastern Siberia and Hokkaido Island in Japan
Botaurus poiciloptilus (Australasian Bittern; Matuku) (48719316081).jpg Botaurus poiciloptilus Australasian bittern Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Ouvea
American Bittern in California.JPG Botaurus lentiginosus American bittern the U.S. Gulf Coast states, all of Florida into the Everglades, the Caribbean islands and parts of Central America
Botaurus pinnatus Avetoro Pinnated Bittern (6265348630).jpg Botaurus pinnatus Pinnated bittern or South American bitternMexico to northern Argentina, though there are few records for Guatemala and Honduras
Ixobrychus involucris.jpg Botaurus involucris (formerly placed in Ixobrychus) Stripe-backed bittern Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana and the island of Trinidad, and in Paraguay, Uruguay, Argentina, Chile and Brazil
Least Bittern Toronto 2018-05-26-2.jpg Botaurus exilis (formerly placed in Ixobrychus) Least bittern southern Canada to northern Argentina
Black bittern .jpg Botaurus flavicollis (formerly placed in Ixobrychus) Black bittern tropical Asia from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka east to China, Indonesia, and Australia
Watching (26153786575).jpg Botaurus cinnamomeus (formerly placed in Ixobrychus) Cinnamon bittern tropical and subtropical Asia from India east to China and Indonesia
Schrenk's Bittern fem - Kang Kra Chan - Thailand S4E4834 (14235609026).jpg Botaurus eurhythmus (formerly placed in Ixobrychus) Von Schrenck's bittern Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Laos, China and Siberia
Dwarf bittern, Ixobrychus sturmii, at Harvey's Pans, Savuti in Chobe National Park, Botswana (31974132380).jpg Botaurus sturmii (formerly placed in Ixobrychus) Dwarf bittern Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Spain (the Canary Islands), Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe
Ixobrychus minutus 3 (Marek Szczepanek).jpg Botaurus minutus (formerly placed in Ixobrychus) Little bittern Africa, central and southern Europe, western and southern Asia, and Madagascar
YELLOW BITTERN.jpg Botaurus sinensis (formerly placed in Ixobrychus) Yellow bittern northern Indian Subcontinent, east to the Russian Far East, Japan and Indonesia.
Australian Little Bittern Sherwood Nov01.jpg Botaurus dubius (formerly placed in Ixobrychus) Black-backed bittern Australia and southern New Guinea

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">American bittern</span> Species of bird

The American bittern is a species of wading bird in the heron family. It has a Nearctic distribution, breeding in Canada and the northern and central parts of the United States, and wintering in the U.S. Gulf Coast states, all of Florida into the Everglades, the Caribbean islands and parts of Central America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eurasian bittern</span> Species of bird

The Eurasian bittern or great bittern is a wading bird in the bittern subfamily (Botaurinae) of the heron family Ardeidae. There are two subspecies, the northern race breeding in parts of Europe and across the Palearctic, as well as on the northern coast of Africa, while the southern race is endemic to parts of southern Africa. It is a secretive bird, seldom seen in the open as it prefers to skulk in reed beds and thick vegetation near water bodies. Its presence is apparent in the spring, when the booming call of the male during the breeding season can be heard. It feeds on fish, small mammals, fledgling birds, amphibians, crustaceans and insects.

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Herons are long-legged, long-necked, freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 72 recognised species, some of which are referred to as egrets or bitterns rather than herons. Members of the genera Botaurus and Ixobrychus are referred to as bitterns, and, together with the zigzag heron, or zigzag bittern, in the monotypic genus Zebrilus, form a monophyletic group within the Ardeidae. Egrets do not form a biologically distinct group from herons, and tend to be named differently because they are mainly white or have decorative plumes in breeding plumage. Herons, by evolutionary adaptation, have long beaks.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little bittern</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">White-faced heron</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cinnamon bittern</span> Species of bird

The cinnamon bittern 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. This species was formerly placed in the genus Ixobrychus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Yellow bittern</span> Species of bird

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References

  1. 1 2 Stephens, James Francis (1819). General Zoology, or Systematic Natural History. Vol. 11, Part 2. London: Kearsley et al. pp. 592, 595.
  2. Gray, George Robert (1840). A List of the Genera of Birds : with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus. London: R. and J.E. Taylor. p. 66.
  3. Mayr, Ernst; Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979). Check-List of Birds of the World. Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 242.
  4. Jobling, James A. "sophiae". The Key to Scientific Names. Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  5. "Bittern (1)". Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. Retrieved 16 May 2016.(subscription required)
  6. Päckert, M.; Hering, J.; Fuchs, E.; Barthel, P.; Heim, W. (2014). "Genetic barcoding confirms first breeding record of the Yellow Bittern, Ixobrychus sinensis, (Aves: Pelecaniformes, Ardeidae) in the Western Palearctic". Vertebrate Zoology. 64: 251–260. doi: 10.3897/vz.64.e31492 .
  7. Hruska, J.P.; Holmes, J.; Oliveros, C.; Shakya, S.; Lavretsky, P.; McCracken, K.G.; Sheldon, F.H.; Moyle, R.G. (2023). "Ultraconserved elements resolve the phylogeny and corroborate patterns of molecular rate variation in herons (Aves: Ardeidae)". Ornithology: ukad005. doi:10.1093/ornithology/ukad005.
  8. Chesser, R.T.; Billerman, S.M.; Burns, K.J.; Cicero, C.; Dunn, J.L.; Hernández-Baños, B.E.; Jiménez, R.A.; Johnson, O.; Kratter, A.W.; Mason, N.A.; Rasmussen, P.C.; Remsen, J.V.J. (2024). "Sixty-fifth Supplement to the American Ornithological Society's Check-list of North American Birds". Ornithology. 141 (3): ukae019. doi: 10.1093/ornithology/ukae019 .
  9. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Hoatzin, New World vultures, Secretarybird, raptors". IOC World Bird List Version 14.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  10. Sibly, Richard M.; Witt, C.C.; Wright, N.A.; Venditti, C.; Jetz, W.; Brown, J.H. (2012). "Energetics, lifestyle, and reproduction in birds". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 109 (27): 10937–10941. doi: 10.1073/pnas.1206512109 .
  11. Martínez-Vilalta, A.; Motis, A. (1992). "Family Ardeida (Herons)" . In del Hoyo, J.; Elliott, A.; Sargatal, J. (eds.). Handbook of the Cornel. Vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions. pp. 376–429. ISBN   84-87334-10-5.