Nycticorax
| Nycticorax Temporal range:Early Oligoceneto present
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| Black-crowned night heron(Nycticorax nycticorax) | |
Scientific classification
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| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Pelecaniformes |
| Family: | Ardeidae |
| Subfamily: | Ardeinae |
| Genus: | Nycticorax T. Forster,1817 |
| Type species | |
| Nycticorax infaustus[1]=Ardea nycticorax T. Forster, 1817
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| Species | |
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2 extant, see text | |
Nycticoraxis agenusofnight herons.The nameNycticoraxmeans "night raven" and derives from theAncient Greekνύκτος,nuktos"night" and κοραξ,korax,"raven". It refers to the largelynocturnalfeeding habits of this group ofbirds,and the croakingcrow-likecall of the best known species, theblack-crowned night heron.[2]
These are medium-sizedheronswhich often aremigratoryin the colder parts of their ranges.
Adults are short-necked, relatively short-legged and stout herons; the twoextantspecies both have a black crown and a whitish belly, while the wings, chest, neck andauricularsare grey orrufousdepending on the species. Young birds are brown, flecked with white and grey, and are quite similar to each other in the extant species. At least some of the extinctMascarenestaxa appear to have retained this juvenile plumage in adult birds.
Night herons nest incolonieson platforms of sticks in a group of trees, or on the ground in protected locations such as islands orreed beds.Three to eighteggsare laid.
They stand at the water's edge, and wait to ambush prey, mainly at night. They primarily eat smallfish,crustaceans,frogs,aquaticinsects,and smallmammals.During the day they rest in trees or bushes.
Taxonomy
[edit]
The genusNycticoraxwas introduced in 1817 by the English naturalistThomas Forsterto accommodate theblack-crowned night heron.[3][4]The epithetnycticoraxis fromAncient Greekand combinesnux,nuktosmeaning "night" andkoraxmeaning "raven". The word was used by authors such asAristotleandHesychius of Miletusfor a "bird of ill omen", perhaps an owl. The word was used by the Swiss naturalistConrad Gessnerin 1555 and then by subsequent authors for the black-crowned night heron.[5][6]
The genus now contains just two species.[7]
In addition to the species listed below, the night herons of the generaNyctanassaandGorsachiuswere formerly placed inNycticorax.[4]
Extant species
[edit]| Image | Scientific name | Common Name | Distribution |
|---|---|---|---|
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Nycticorax nycticorax | Black-crowned night heron | Europe, Asia, and North and South America |
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Nycticorax caledonicus | Nankeen night heronor rufous night heron | Australia, New Zealand, the Philippines, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Java, New Caledonia, Palau, and the Caroline Islands, Federated States of Micronesia |
Extinct species and fossils
[edit]- Rodrigues night heron,Nycticorax megacephalus(extinct)
- Réunion night heron,Nycticorax duboisi(extinct)
- Mauritius night heron,Nycticorax mauritianus(extinct)
- Ascension night heron,Nycticorax olsoni(extinct)
- Niue night heron,Nycticorax kalavikai(prehistoric)[8]
- ʻEua night heron,Nycticoraxsp. (prehistoric)
- Lifuka night heron,Nycticoraxsp. (prehistoric) – may be same asʻEuaspecies
- Mangaia night heron,Nycticoraxsp. (prehistoric)
In addition, the following taxa are known from fossil bones:
- Nycticoraxsp. (EarlyOligoceneof Fayyum, Egypt) (fossil)
- Nycticorax fidens(LateMioceneof McGehee Farm, US) (fossil)[9]
References
[edit]
- ^"Ardeidae".aviansystematics.org.The Trust for Avian Systematics.Retrieved27 July2023.
- ^Jobling, James A (2010).The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names.London: Christopher Helm. p.277.ISBN978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^Forster, T.(1817).A Synoptical Catalogue of British Birds; intended to identify the species mentioned by different names in several catalogues already extant. Forming a book of reference to Observations on British ornithology.London: Nichols, son, and Bentley. p. 59.
- ^abMayr, Ernst;Cottrell, G. William, eds. (1979).Check-List of Birds of the World.Vol. 1 (2nd ed.). Cambridge, Massachusetts: Museum of Comparative Zoology. p. 228.
- ^Gesner, Conrad(1555).Historiae animalium liber III qui est de auium natura. Adiecti sunt ab initio indices alphabetici decem super nominibus auium in totidem linguis diuersis: & ante illos enumeratio auium eo ordiné quo in hoc volumine continentur(in Latin). Zurich: Froschauer. pp. 602–603.
- ^Jobling, James A. (2010).The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names.London: Christopher Helm. p. 277.ISBN978-1-4081-2501-4.
- ^Gill, Frank;Donsker, David;Rasmussen, Pamela,eds. (2023)."Ibis, spoonbills, herons, Hamerkop, Shoebill, pelicans".IOC World Bird List.13.2. International Ornithologists' Union.Retrieved7 December2023.
- ^Steadman, David W.; Worthy, Trevor H.;Anderson, Atholl& Walter, Richard. (1 June 2000)."New species and records of birds from prehistoric sites on Niue, southwest Pacific".Wilson Bulletin.112(2): 165–186.doi:10.1676/0043-5643(2000)112[0165:NSAROB]2.0.CO;2.S2CID86588636.Archived fromthe originalon 24 May 2007.(subscription required)
- ^"†Nycticorax fidensBrodkorb 1963 (night heron) ".Fossilworks.
"Night Herons"at theEncyclopedia of Life
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