| White-backed night heron | |
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Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Pelecaniformes |
| Family: | Ardeidae |
| Genus: | Calherodius Bonaparte, 1855 |
| Species: | C. leuconotus |
| Binomial name | |
| Calherodius leuconotus (Wagler, 1827) | |
| Synonyms | |
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The white-backed night heron (Calherodius leuconotus) is a species of medium-sized heron in the family Ardeidae, found in sub-Saharan Africa.
The white-backed night heron was formally described in 1827 by the German naturalist Johann Wagler under the binomial name Ardea leuconotus. He specified the type locality as Senegambia. [2] [3] 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, [4] 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 as Ardea cucullata Lichtenstein which is now considered to be a junior synonym of Ardea leuconotus Wagler. [5] [6] [7] The species is treated as monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [7]
The white-backed night heron is 50–55 cm (20–22 in) in length with a black head and a short crest, or prominent feather display on the top of its head. [8] The heron has large red eyes with white-ringed markings around them, and the lores, or the region behind the eye, are a pale yellow hue. [8] [9] The throat feathers are white, whereas the neck and breast are rufous, or a reddish-brown hue. [8] There is a notable white triangular patch along the back formed by the white scapulars, or small feathers, on the shoulder of the bird. [8] The belly feathers are a whitish-brown and the legs are yellow. [10] [11] An immature heron can be identified by its streaked breast and the white spots on the upper-wing coverts. [12] Chicks are covered with olive-brown down. [10]
The white-backed night heron is located throughout central and southern Africa, with a range estimated at 20,900,000 km2 (8,100,000 sq mi). [1] Its primary habitat is dense forests with neighboring waterways, particularly streams, lakes, mangroves and marshes. [13]
The white-backed night heron can be found living individually or in pairs. [9] Nocturnal by nature, they roost in the dense vegetation of marshes and forests during the daylight hours, often nesting high within the trees. [13] Their nests are well-hidden, usually built in vegetation near water and sometimes in reedbeds, mangroves, rocks and caves. [13] The nest is built resembling a platform of sticks or reeds, 25–30 cm (9.8–11.8 in) wide. [10] They usually breed during the rainy season or early in the dry season. [13] 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. [10] 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. [14] White-backed night herons are known foragers, meaning they search for food primarily along waterways. They have been observed to eat fish, amphibians, mollusks and insects. [10] Though usually quiet, they let out a loud kroak call when alarmed and a taash call when disturbed. [10]
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. [13] Due to these factors and its large range, the IUCN Red List has assessed the species to be of least concern. [1] 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. [13]
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.
The grey heron is a long-legged wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae, native throughout temperate Europe and Asia, and also parts of Africa. It is resident in much of its range, but some populations from the more northern parts migrate southwards in autumn. A bird of wetland areas, it can be seen around lakes, rivers, ponds, marshes and on the sea coast. It feeds mostly on aquatic creatures which it catches after standing stationary beside or in the water, or stalking its prey through the shallows.
The great egret (Ardea alba), also known as the common egret, large egret, or great white egret or great white heron, is a large, widely distributed egret. The four subspecies are found in Asia, Africa, the Americas, and southern Europe. Recently, it has also been spreading to more northern areas of Europe. Distributed across most of the tropical and warmer temperate regions of the world, it builds tree nests in colonies close to water.
The black-crowned night-heron, or black-capped night-heron, commonly shortened to just night-heron in Eurasia, is a medium-sized heron found throughout a large part of the world, including parts of Europe, Asia, and North and South America. In Australasia it is replaced by the closely related nankeen night heron, with which it has hybridized in the area of contact.
The striated heron also known as mangrove heron, little green heron or green-backed heron, is a small heron, about 44 cm tall. Striated herons are mostly sedentary and noted for some interesting behavioral traits. Their breeding habitat is small wetlands in the Old World tropics from west Africa to Japan and Australia, and in South America and the Caribbean. Vagrants have been recorded on Oceanic islands, such as Chuuk and Yap in the Federated States of Micronesia, the Marianas and Palau; the bird recorded on Yap on February 25, 1991, was from a continental Asian rather than from a Melanesian population, while the origin of the bird seen on Palau on May 3, 2005 was not clear.
The little bittern is a wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. This species was formerly placed in the genus Ixobrychus.
The pink-backed pelican is a bird of the pelican family. It is a resident breeder in the swamps and shallow lakes of Africa and southern Arabia; it has also apparently been extirpated from Madagascar.
The black-headed heron is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae, common throughout much of sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar. It is mainly resident, but some west African birds move further north in the rainy season.
The white-faced heron also known as the white-fronted heron, and incorrectly as the grey heron, or blue crane, is a common bird throughout most of Australasia, including New Guinea, the islands of Torres Strait, Indonesia, New Zealand, and all but the driest areas of Australia.
The black bittern is a bittern of Old World origin, breeding in tropical Asia from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka east to China, Indonesia, and Australia. It is mainly resident, but some northern birds migrate short distances. This species was formerly placed in the genus Ixobrychus.
The little blue heron is a small heron of the genus Egretta. It is a small, darkly colored heron with a two-toned bill. Juveniles are entirely white, bearing resemblance to the snowy egret. During the breeding season, adults develop different coloration on the head, legs, and feet.
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.
Egretta is a genus of medium-sized herons, mostly breeding in warmer climates.
The white-bellied heron also known as the imperial heron or great white-bellied heron, is a large heron species living in the foothills of the eastern Himalayas in northeast India and Bhutan to northern Myanmar. It inhabits undisturbed rivers and wetlands. It has been listed as Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List since 2007, because the global population is estimated at less than 250 mature individuals and threatened by habitat loss and human disturbance. It is mostly dark grey with a white throat and underparts.
Von Schrenck's bittern or Schrenck's bittern is a small bittern named after Leopold von Schrenck, the 19th-century Russian zoologist. It breeds in southeast Siberia, east China, the Korean Peninsula and Japan. It winters from the Malay Peninsula to the Greater Sunda Islands, Sulawesi and the Philippines. This species was formerly placed in the genus Ixobrychus.
The rufous-bellied heron is a species of heron in the genus Ardeola, the pond herons, of the family Ardeidae. It is found in southern Africa.
The stripe-backed bittern is a South American bird species belonging to the family Ardeidae, which includes Herons, Egrets and Bitterns. It was formerly placed in the genus Ixobrychus. Commonly found near freshwater swamps, marshes, lake shores and streams, stripe-backed bitterns span over a wide distribution that divides into the northern and southern populations, spanning on both sides of the Andes. Although increasingly recognized and researched worldwide, much life history details are lacking concerning this species, which remains understudied compared to its similar looking sister clade, including the least bittern.
The capped heron is a water bird endemic to the neotropics, inhabiting rainforest from the center of Panama to the south of Brazil. It is the only species of the genus Pilherodius, and one of the least known of the heron family, Ardeidae. It is superficially similar to the group of the night herons, but is active during daytime or at twilight.
Tigrisoma is a genus of herons in the family Ardeidae.
The eastern cattle egret is a species of heron found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. Formerly, most taxonomic authorities lumped this species and the western cattle egret together, but the two cattle egrets are now treated as separate species. Despite the similarities in plumage to the egrets of the genus Egretta, it is more closely related to the herons of Ardea. It is native to southern and eastern Asia, and Australasia.
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