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Striated heron

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Striated heron
Adult in Sydney, Australia
Scientific classificationEdit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Genus: Butorides
Species:
B. striata
Binomial name
Butorides striata
Synonyms
  • Ardea striataLinnaeus, 1758
  • Butorides striatus(lapsus)
  • Butorides spodiogasterSharpe, 1894
  • Ardea chloricepsBonaparte, 1857[2]

Thestriated heron(Butorides striata) also known asmangrove heron,little green heronorgreen-backed heron,is a smallheron,about 44 cm tall. Striated herons are mostlysedentaryand noted for some interesting behavioral traits. Their breeding habitat is small wetlands in theOld Worldtropics from west Africa to Japan and Australia, and in South America and theCaribbean.Vagrants have been recorded on Oceanic islands, such asChuukandYapin the Federated States of Micronesia, theMarianasand Palau; the bird recorded on Yap on February 25, 1991, was from a continental Asian rather than from aMelanesianpopulation, while the origin of the bird seen on Palau on May 3, 2005 was not clear.[3]

Taxonomy[edit]

The striated heron wasformally describedby the Swedish naturalistCarl Linnaeusin 1758 in thetenth editionof hisSystema Naturae.He placed it with the other herons in thegenusArdeaand coined thebinomial nameArdea striata.Linnaeus specified thelocalityasSuriname.[4][5]The specific epithet is fromLatinstriatusmeaning "striated".[6]The striated heron is now one of three closely related species placed in the genusButoridesthat was introduced in 1852 by the English zoologistEdward Blyth.[7]

This bird was long considered to beconspecificwith the closely related North American species, thegreen heron,which is now usually separated asButorides virescens,as well as thelava heronof theGalápagos Islands(nowButorides sundevalli,but often included inButorides striata,e.g. byBirdLife International[8]); collectively they were called "green-backed herons".

Twenty onesubspeciesare recognised:[7]

  • B. s. striata Brazil
    B. s. striata
    Brazil
  • juvenile B. s. atricapilla Ghana
    juvenileB. s. atricapilla
    Ghana
  • unknown subspecies Bahrain
    unknown subspecies
    Bahrain
  • B. s. chloriceps India
    B. s. chloriceps
    India
  • B. s. javanica Malaysia
    B. s. javanica
    Malaysia
  • On the Daintree River, North Queensland Australia
    On theDaintree River,North Queensland
    Australia

Description[edit]

The striated heron is 35–48 cm (14–19 in) in length, weighs 130–250 g (4.6–8.8 oz) and has a wing-span of 52–60 cm (20–24 in). The sexes are alike. The plumage is vary variable, even sometimes within the same race.[9]Adults have a blue-grey back and wings, white underparts, a black cap, a dark line extends from the bill to under the eye and short yellow legs. Juveniles are browner above and streaked below.

Behaviour[edit]

Food and feeding[edit]

These birds stand still at the water's edge and wait to ambush prey, but are easier to see than many small heron species. They mainly eat small fish, frogs and aquatic insects. They sometimes use bait, dropping a feather or leaf carefully on the water surface and picking fish that come to investigate.[10]

Breeding[edit]

Egg,Muséum de Toulouse

The nest is a platform of sticks measuring between 20–40 cm long and 0.5–5 mm thick. The entire nest measures some 40–50 cm wide and 8–10 cm high outside, with an inner depression 20 cm wide and 4–5 cm deep. It is usually built in shrubs or trees but sometimes in sheltered locations on the ground, and often near water. Theclutchis 2–5eggs,which are pale blue and measure around 36 by 28 mm.[11]

An adult bird was once observed in a peculiar and mysterious behavior: while on the nest, it would grab a stick in its bill and make a rapid back-and-forth motion with the head, like a sewing machine's needle. The significance of this behavior is completely unknown: While such movements occur in many other nesting birds where they seem to compact the nest, move the eggs, or dislodgeparasites,neither seems to have been the case in this particular striated heron.[11]

Young birds will give a display when they feel threatened, by stretching out their necks and pointing the bill skywards. How far this would deterpredatorsis not known.[11]

Widespread and generally common, the striated heron is classified as a species ofleast concernby theIUCN;this holds true whether thelava heronis included inButorides striataor not.[8]

References[edit]

  1. ^BirdLife International (2022)."Butorides striata".IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.2022:e.T22728182A163804848.Retrieved28 July2023.
  2. ^Biswas, Biswamoy (1959)."A note on the correct zoological name of the Indian little green heron (Aves, Ardeidae)"(PDF).Current Science.28(7): 288.
  3. ^Wileset al.(2000), VanderWerfet al.(2006)
  4. ^Linnaeus, Carl(1758).Systema Naturae per regna tria naturae, secundum classes, ordines, genera, species, cum characteribus, differentiis, synonymis, locis(in Latin). Vol. 1 (10th ed.). Holmiae (Stockholm): Laurentii Salvii. p. 144.
  5. ^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. 220.
  6. ^Jobling, James A. (2010).The Helm Dictionary of Scientific Bird Names.London: Christopher Helm. p. 367.ISBN978-1-4081-2501-4.
  7. ^abGill, Frank;Donsker, David;Rasmussen, Pamela,eds. (July 2023)."Ibis, spoonbills, herons, Hamerkop, Shoebill, pelicans".IOC World Bird List Version 13.2.International Ornithologists' Union.Retrieved20 September2023.
  8. ^abBLI (2008)
  9. ^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 [417].ISBN84-87334-10-5.
  10. ^Norris (1975), Boswall (1983), Walshet al.(1985), Robinson (1994)
  11. ^abcGreeney & Merino M. (2006)

Sources[edit]

  • Boswall, J. (1983): Tool-using and related behavior in birds: more notes.Avicultural Magazine89:94–108.
  • Greeney, Harold F. & Merino M., Paúl A. (2006): Notes on breeding birds from the Cuyabeno Faunistic Reserve in northeastern Ecuador.Boletín de la Sociedad Antioqueña de Ornitología16(2): 46–57.PDF fulltext
  • Norris, D. (1975): Green Heron (Butorides virescens) uses feather lure for fishing.American Birds29:652–654.
  • Robinson, S.K. (1994): Use of bait and lures by Green-backed Herons in Amazonian Peru.Wilson Bulletin106(3): 569–571
  • Walsh, J.F.; Grunewald, J. & Grunewald, B. (1985): Green-backed Herons (Butorides striatus) possibly using a lure and using apparent bait.J. Ornithol.126:439–442.
  • Wiles, Gary J.; Worthington, David J.; Beck, Robert E. Jr.; Pratt, H. Douglas; Aguon, Celestino F. & Pyle, Robert L. (2000): Noteworthy Bird Records for Micronesia, with a Summary of Raptor Sightings in the Mariana Islands, 1988–1999.Micronesica32(2): 257–284.PDF fulltext
  • VanderWerf, Eric A.; Wiles, Gary J.; Marshall, Ann P. & Knecht, Melia (2006): Observations of migrants and other birds in Palau, April–May 2005, including the first Micronesian record of a Richard's Pipit.Micronesica39(1): 11–29.PDF fulltext

External links[edit]

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