Botaurus Explained

Bitterns are any of the genus Botaurus, a group of wading birds from the heron family Ardeidae.

They were called hæferblæte and various iterations of raredumla in Old English; the word "bittern" came to English from Old French butor, itself from Gallo-Roman butitaurus, a compound of Latin būtiō (buzzard) and taurus (bull).[1]

Bitterns usually frequent reed beds and similar marshy areas and feed on amphibians, reptiles, insects, and fish.

Bitterns, like herons, egrets, and pelicans, fly with their necks retracted, unlike the cranes, storks, ibises, spoonbills, and geese which fly with necks extended and outstretched. The genus Ixobrychus was recently found to be paraphyletic with the Botaurus genus, and Ixobrychus was then merged into Botaurus.

Taxonomy

The genus Botaurus was introduced in 1819 by the English naturalist James Francis Stephens.[2] Stephens did not specify the type species but this was designated as Ardea stellaris Linnaeus (Eurasian bittern) by George Gray in 1840.[3] [4] The name Botaurus is Medieval Latin for a bittern. The word combines Latin bos meaning "oxen" (compare butire "to boom") and taurus meaning "bull".[5] In describing the Eurasian bittern Stephens wrote: "At this period the male makes a singular noise, which is compared with the deep bellowing of a bull, and is continued for about two months: ...".[2] [6]

The genus formerly contained fewer species. Molecular genetic studies found that the genus Ixobrychus was paraphyletic with respect to Botaurus.[7] [8] To resolve the non-monophyly the genus Ixobrychus was merged into Botaurus which has priority.[9] [10]

The bitterns are large chunky, heavily streaked brown birds which breed in large reed beds. Almost uniquely for predatory birds, the female rears the young alone.[11] They are secretive and well-camouflaged, and despite their size they can be difficult to observe except for occasional flight views. They eat fish, frogs, and similar aquatic life.[12]

Species

The genus contains 14 species, this includes the New Zealand bittern which is now extinct.[10]

Notes and References

  1. Encyclopedia: Joseph P. Pickett. The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language. Bittern. 2006-07-04. 4th. 2000. Houghton Mifflin. Boston. etal. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20050116011921/http://www.bartleby.com/61/77/B0287700.html. 2005-01-16.
  2. Book: Stephens, James Francis . James Francis Stephens . 1819 . General Zoology, or Systematic Natural History . 11, Part 2 . London . Kearsley et al. . 592, 595 .
  3. Book: Gray, George Robert . George Robert Gray . 1840 . A List of the Genera of Birds: with an Indication of the Typical Species of Each Genus . London . R. and J.E. Taylor . 66 .
  4. Book: Mayr . Ernst . Ernst Mayr . Cottrell . G. William . 1979 . Check-List of Birds of the World . 1 . 2nd . Museum of Comparative Zoology . Cambridge, Massachusetts . 242 .
  5. Web site: Jobling . James A. . Botaurus . The Key to Scientific Names . Cornell Lab of Ornithology . 20 August 2024.
  6. Web site: Bittern (1). Oxford English Dictionary. Oxford University Press . 16 May 2016.
  7. Päckert . M. . Hering . J. . Fuchs . E. . Barthel . P. . Heim . W. . 2014 . Genetic barcoding confirms first breeding record of the Yellow Bittern, Ixobrychus sinensis, (Aves: Pelecaniformes, Ardeidae) in the Western Palearctic . Vertebrate Zoology . 64 . 2 . 251–260 . 10.3897/vz.64.e31492 . free.
  8. 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 . 140 . 2 . ukad005 . 10.1093/ornithology/ukad005.
  9. 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 . 10.1093/ornithology/ukae019 . free .
  10. Web site: Gill . Frank . Frank Gill (ornithologist) . Donsker . David . Rasmussen . Pamela . Pamela C. Rasmussen . August 2024 . Hoatzin, New World vultures, Secretarybird, raptors . IOC World Bird List Version 14.2 . International Ornithologists' Union . 20 August 2024 .
  11. Sibly . Richard M. . Witt . C.C. . Wright . N.A. . Venditti . C. . Jetz . W. . Brown . J.H. . 2012 . Energetics, lifestyle, and reproduction in birds . Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America . 109 . 27 . 10937–10941 . 10.1073/pnas.1206512109 . free . 22615391 . 3390878 .
  12. Book: Martínez-Vilalta . A. . Motis . A. . 1992 . Family Ardeida (Herons) . del Hoyo . J. . Elliott . A. . Sargatal . J. . Handbook of the Cornel . 1: Ostrich to Ducks . Barcelona, Spain . Lynx Edicions . 84-87334-10-5 . 376–429 . https://archive.org/details/handbookofbirdso0001unse/page/376/mode/1up . registration .

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