| 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 German naturalist Johann Wagler described the white-backed night heron as Ardea leuconotus in 1827. [2] [3] Today the IOC World Bird List, BirdLife International and the Handbook of the Birds of the World place it in its own monotypic genus Calherodius. [4] [5] Its name derives from a patch of white feathers that form a triangle on its back. [6] [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. [3] [10] An immature heron can be identified by its streaked breast and the white spots on the upper-wing coverts. [6] Chicks are covered with olive-brown down. [3]
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. [4]
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. [4] Their nests are well-hidden, usually built in vegetation near water and sometimes in reedbeds, mangroves, rocks and caves. [4] The nest is built resembling a platform of sticks or reeds, 25–30 cm (9.8–11.8 in) wide. [3] They usually breed during the rainy season or early in the dry season. [4] 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. [3] 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. [11] 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. [3] Though usually quiet, they let out a loud kroak call when alarmed and a taash call when disturbed. [3]
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. [4] 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. [4]
The fieldfare is a member of the thrush family Turdidae. It breeds in woodland and scrub in northern Europe and across the Palearctic. It is strongly migratory, with many northern birds moving south during the winter. It is a very rare breeder in Great Britain and Ireland, but winters in large numbers in the United Kingdom, Southern Europe, North Africa and the Middle East. It is omnivorous, eating a wide range of molluscs, insects and earthworms in the summer, and berries, grain and seeds in the winter.
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.
The purple heron is a wide-ranging heron species. It breeds in Africa, central and southern Europe, and southern and eastern Palearctic. The Western Palearctic populations migrate between breeding and wintering habitats whereas the African and tropical-Asian populations are primarily sedentary, except for occasional dispersive movements.
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 is also 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 yellow-crowned night heron, is one of two species of night heron in genus Nyctanassa. Unlike the black-crowned night heron, which has a worldwide distribution, the yellow-crowned is restricted to the Americas. It is known as the bihoreau violacé in French and the pedrete corona clara or yaboa común in some Spanish-speaking countries.
The black-winged stilt is a widely distributed, very long-legged wader in the avocet and stilt family Recurvirostridae. Its scientific name, Himantopus himantopus, is sometimes used to generalize a single, almost cosmopolitan species. Alternatively, it is restricted to the form that is widespread in Europe, Asia and Africa, which equals the nominate group of H. himantopussensu lato. Meanwhile, the black-necked and white-backed stilts both inhabit the Americas; the pied stilt ranges from Australasia and New Zealand. Today, most sources accept between one and four actual species.
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 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.
The intermediate egret, median egret, smaller egret or medium egret, is a medium-sized heron. Some taxonomists put the species in the genus Egretta or Mesophoyx. It is a resident breeder in southern and eastern Asia.
The bronze mannikin or bronze munia is a small passerine bird of the Afrotropics. This very social estrildid finch is an uncommon to locally abundant bird in much of Africa south of the Sahara Desert, where it is resident, nomadic or irruptive in mesic savanna or forest margin habitats. It has an estimated global extent of occurrence of 8,100,000 km2. It is the smallest and most widespread of four munia species on the African mainland, the other being black-and-white, red-backed and magpie mannikin. It co-occurs with the Madagascar mannikin on the Comoro Islands, and was introduced to Puerto Rico. Especially in the West Africa, it is considered a pest in grain and rice fields. It is locally trapped for the pet bird trade.
Kittlitz's plover is a small shorebird in the family Charadriidae that breeds near coastal and inland saltmarshes, sandy or muddy riverbanks or alkaline grasslands with short vegetation. It is native to much of Sub-Saharan Africa, the Nile Delta and Madagascar. It is thought to be mainly polygamous and has monomorphic plumage.
The Goliath heron, also known as the giant heron, is a very large wading bird of the heron family, Ardeidae. It is found in sub-Saharan Africa, with smaller, declining numbers in Southwest and South Asia.
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).
The Antarctic tern is a seabird in the family Laridae. It ranges throughout the southern oceans and is found on small islands around Antarctica as well as on the shores of the mainland. Its diet consists primarily of small fish and crustaceans. It is very similar in appearance to the closely related Arctic tern, but it is stockier, and it is in its breeding plumage in the southern summer, when the Arctic tern has shed old feathers to get its non-breeding plumage. The Antarctic tern does not migrate like the Arctic tern does, but it can still be found on a very large range. This tern species is actually more closely related to the South American tern.
The pale chanting goshawk is a bird of prey in the family Accipitridae. This hawk breeds in southern Africa and is a resident species of dry, open semi-desert with 75 cm or less annual rainfall. It is commonly seen perched on roadside telephone poles.
The black-crowned sparrow-lark is a species of lark in the family Alaudidae. It is found across northern Africa from Mauritania through the Middle East to north-western India. Its natural habitat is dry savanna.
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 Namaqua sandgrouse, is a species of ground-dwelling bird in the sandgrouse family. It is found in arid regions of south-western Africa.
The red-headed weaver is a species of bird in the family Ploceidae. It is placed in the monotypic genus Anaplectes and is found throughout the Afrotropics.
The white-browed robin-chat, also known as Heuglin's robin, is a species of bird in the family Muscicapidae. Found in east, central and southern Africa, its natural habitats include riverine forest and thickets, and it is also found near humans. The IUCN classifies it as a least-concern species.
