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Von Schrenck's bittern

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Von Schrenck's bittern
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Genus: Botaurus
Species:
B. eurhythmus
Binomial name
Botaurus eurhythmus
(R. Swinhoe, 1873)
Range of B. eurhythmus
  Breeding range
  Nonbreeding range

Von Schrenck's bittern or Schrenck's bittern (Botaurus eurhythmus) 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.

Taxonomy

Von Schrenck's bittern was formally described in 1873 by the English naturalist Robert Swinhoe under the binomial name Ardetta eurhythma. He designated the type locality as the Amor (Xiamen) and Shanghai regions of China.[2][3] Swinhoe realised that the species had been illustrated in a book by the Russian zoologist Leopold von Schrenck published in 1858. Von Schrenck had encountered the bird in the Amur river basin of eastern Russia and had believed it was a cinnamon bittern.[2][4] Von Schrenck's 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. To create monophyletic genera, Ixobrychus was merged into the genus Botaurus that had been introduced in 1819 by the English naturalist James Francis Stephens.[5][6][7] The genus name Botaurus is Medieval Latin for a bittern. The specific epithet eurhythmus is from Ancient Greek eurhuthmos meaning "graceful" or "well-proportioned".[8] The species is treated as monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.[6]

Description

The male is uniformly chestnut above, and buff below and on the wing covert feathers. The female and juvenile are chestnut all over with white speckles above, and white streaks below. When in flight, it shows black flight feathers and tail.[9] It is a small species at 33 to 39 cm (13 to 15 in) in length,[10] with a short neck, longish yellow beak and yellow legs.[9]

Distribution and habitat

Foraging Von Schrenck's bittern in Central Catchment, Singapore

It breeds in China and Siberia from March to July, and Japan from May to August. It winters in Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore, Laos, passing through the rest of Southeast Asia. It is an exceptionally rare vagrant as far west as Europe, with a single sighting in Italy in 1912.[1]

Behaviour and ecology

Von Schrenck's bittern breeds in reed beds and tends to emerge at dusk to forage for prey.[10]

Conservation

Widespread throughout its large range, Von Schrenck's bittern has been assessed as least concern on the IUCN Red List.[1]

References

  1. ^ a b c BirdLife International (2016). "Ixobrychus eurhythmus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22697317A93607859. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22697317A93607859.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  2. ^ a b Swinhoe, Robert (1873). "On a new species of little bittern from China". Ibis: 73–74, Plate 2.
  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. 241.
  4. ^ Von Schrenck, Leopold. Reisen und Forschungen im Amur-Lande in den Jahren 1854-1856 (in German). Vol. 1. St. Petersburg: Commissionäre der K. Akademie der Wissenschaften. Plate 13, fig. 3.
  5. ^ 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.
  6. ^ a b 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.
  7. ^ 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.
  8. ^ Jobling, James A. (2010). The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names. London: Christopher Helm. pp. 153, 155. ISBN 978-1-4081-2501-4.
  9. ^ a b Martínez-Vilalta, A.; Motis, A.; Kirwan, G.M.; Bonan, A.; Hansasuta, C. (2024). Sly, N.D. (ed.). "Schrenck's Bittern (Ixobrychus eurhythmus), version 1.1". Birds of the World. Ithaca, NY, USA: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved 21 August 2024.
  10. ^ a b 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 [426]. ISBN 84-87334-10-5.
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