Yellow bittern

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Yellow bittern
Ixobrychus sinensis - Chinese Garden.jpg
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Genus: Botaurus
Species:
B. sinensis
Binomial name
Botaurus sinensis
(Gmelin, JF, 1789)

The yellow bittern (Botaurus sinensis) is a small bittern. It is of Old World origins, breeding in the northern Indian Subcontinent, east to the Russian Far East, Japan and Indonesia. It is mainly resident, but some northern birds migrate short distances. It has been recorded as a vagrant in Alaska and there is a single sighting in Great Britain, from Radipole Lake, Dorset on November 23, 1962 – however, the British Ornithologists' Union has always considered this occurrence to be of uncertain provenance and currently it is not accepted onto the official British List. This species was formerly placed in the genus Ixobrychus.

Contents

Taxonomy

The yellow bittern was formally described in 1789 by Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Systema Naturae . He placed it with the herons, cranes, storks and bitterns in the genus Ardea and coined the binomial name Ardea sinensis. [2] Gmelin based his description on the "Chinese heron" that had been included by the English ornithologist John Latham in his multi-volume work A General Synopsis of Birds. Latham based his description on a collection of Chinese drawings. [3] The yellow bittern was formerly placed in the genus Ixobrychus. A molecular phylogenetic study of the heron family Ardeidae published in 2023 found that Ixobrychus was paraphyletic and to create monophyletic genera, Ixobrychus was merged into the genus Botaurus that had been introduced in 1819 by the English naturalist James Francis Stephens. [4] [5] [6] The genus name Botaurus is Medieval Latin for a bittern. The specific epithet sinensis is Modern Latin meaning "China". [7] The species is monotypic: no subspecies are recognised. [5]

Description

The yellow bittern is a small species at 36 to 38 cm (14 to 15 in) in length, with a short neck and longish bill. [8] [9] It has yellow green legs, an ivory bill (darker on top), a short black tail and yellow irises. [10] [11] The male of the species has a dark cap, chestnut head and neck, with a uniformly dull yellow body above and buff below. [9] [12] The female's cap, neck and breast are streaked, with a rufous hindneck and upper back and streaked dark red brown and buff under parts. [10] The juveniles of the species resemble the female but is more boldly streaked, brown on its head and back, and mottled with buff above. [9] [10] [13]

Distribution and habitat

Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden Ixobrychus sinensis MWNH 0906.JPG
Egg, Collection Museum Wiesbaden

Yellow bittern's are found in fresh water marshes and swamps. [10] It nests in small constructed platforms of reeds or twigs in the vegetation of reed beds or in trees and shrubs adjacent to or above water. [10] [12] [14] They lay four to six pale blue-green eggs. [14] [15]

Behaviour and ecology

Yellow bitterns feed on a variety of insects, fish, amphibians, crustaceans and molluscs. [15]

Conservation

The yellow bittern is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918. [16] [17]

Related Research Articles

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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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Heron</span> Family of birds

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">Great egret</span> Species of bird

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lesser yellowlegs</span> Species of medium-sized shorebird

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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

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

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.

<i>Botaurus</i> Genus of birds

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.

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

The least bittern is a small heron, the smallest member of the family Ardeidae found in the Americas. This species was formerly placed in the genus Ixobrychus.

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

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

The nankeen night heron is a heron that belongs to the genus Nycticorax and the family Ardeidae. Due to its distinctive reddish-brown colour, it is also commonly referred to as the rufous night heron. It is primarily nocturnal and is observed in a broad range of habitats, including forests, meadows, shores, reefs, marshes, grasslands, and swamps. The species is 55 to 65 cm in length, with rich cinnamon upperparts and white underparts. The nankeen night heron has a stable population size, and is classified as a species of least concern by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Von Schrenck's bittern</span> Species of bird

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.

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

The pinnated bittern, also known as the South American bittern, is a large member of the heron family (Ardeidae) found in the New World tropics. Like the other Botaurus bitterns, its plumage is mostly buffy-brown and cryptically patterned. Though it is a widespread species, it is rarely seen – presumably due to its skulking habits – and much about its life history remains little known.

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

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

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Zealand bittern</span> Extinct species of heron

The New Zealand bittern is an extinct and enigmatic species of heron in the family Ardeidae. It was endemic to New Zealand and was last recorded alive in the 1890s.

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

The zigzag heron is a species of heron in the family Ardeidae, also including egrets and bitterns. It is in the monotypic genus Zebrilus. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical swamps.

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

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References

  1. ↑ BirdLife International (2016). "Ixobrychus sinensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22697303A93606843. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22697303A93606843.en . Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  2. ↑ Gmelin, J. F. (1789). Systema naturae per regna tria naturae : secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis (in Latin). Vol. 1, Part 2 (13th ed.). Lipsiae [Leipzig]: Georg Emanuel Beer. pp. 642–643.
  3. ↑ Latham, J. (1785). A General Synopsis of Birds. Vol. 3, Part 1. London: Printed for Leigh and Sotheby. p. 99.
  4. ↑ 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.
  5. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David; Rasmussen, Pamela, eds. (August 2024). "Ibis, spoonbills, herons, Hamerkop, Shoebill, pelicans". IOC World Bird List Version 14.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 20 August 2024.
  6. ↑ 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 .
  7. ↑ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp.  75, 357. ISBN   978-1-4081-2501-4.
  8. ↑ Silva Wijeyeratne, Gehan de (2008). A photographic guide to birds of Sri Lanka. Internet Archive. London : New Holland. ISBN   978-1-84773-318-4.
  9. 1 2 3 "Ixobrychus sinensis, Yellow bittern". Thai National Parks. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 "HeronConservation » Yellow Bittern" . Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  11. ↑ Phillipps, Quentin; Phillipps, Karen (2010-01-07). Phillipps Field Guide To The Birds Of Borneo. John Beaufoy Publishing. p. 60. ISBN   978-1-906780-10-4.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  12. 1 2 Pratt, H. Douglas (Harold Douglas) (2008). The birds & bats of Palau. Internet Archive. Honolulu, HI : Mutual Pub. pp. 164–165. ISBN   978-1-56647-871-7.
  13. ↑ "Yellow Bittern". Birds of Singapore. 2016-01-09. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  14. 1 2 "Yellow Bittern". Animalia. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  15. 1 2 "Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis) – Planet of Birds" . Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  16. ↑ "List of Birds Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act (2023) | FWS.gov". www.fws.gov. 2020-04-26. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
  17. ↑ "10.13 List of Birds Protected by the Migratory Bird Treaty Act". National Archives Code of Federal Regulations. Retrieved 2024-04-01.
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