Von Schrenck's bittern
Von Schrenck's bittern | |
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Scientific classification | |
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Species: | I. eurhythmus
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Binomial name | |
Ixobrychus eurhythmus Swinhoe, 1873
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Von Schrenck's bittern (Ixobrychus eurhythmus), also known as Schrenck's bittern, is a small bittern. It breeds in China and Siberia from March to July, and Japan from May to August. It winters in Indonesia, Philippines, Singapore, Laos, passing through the rest of South-east Asia. It is an exceptionally rare vagrant as far west as Europe, with a single sighting in Italy in 1912. It is named after Leopold von Schrenck, the 19th-century Russian naturalist.
![Foraging bird from Central Catchment, Singapore](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/a2/Von_Schrenck%27s_Bittern_%28Ixobrychus_eurhythmus%29%2C_Central_Catchment_Nature_Reserve%2C_Singapore_-_20140327.jpg/300px-Von_Schrenck%27s_Bittern_%28Ixobrychus_eurhythmus%29%2C_Central_Catchment_Nature_Reserve%2C_Singapore_-_20140327.jpg)
This is a small species at 33 to 38 cm (13 to 15 in) in length, with a short neck, longish yellow bill and yellow legs.[2] The male is uniformly chestnut above, and buff below and on the wing coverts. 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.
Their breeding habitat is reed beds. They can be difficult to see, given their skulking lifestyle and reed bed habitat, but tend to emerge at dusk, when they can be seen creeping almost cat-like in search of preys.
Widespread throughout its large range, Von Schrenck's bittern is evaluated as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
References
External links
- IUCN Red List least concern species
- Bitterns
- Ixobrychus
- Birds of Asia
- Birds of Southeast Asia
- Birds of Brunei
- Birds of China
- Birds of Indonesia
- Birds of Japan
- Birds of Laos
- Birds of Malaysia
- Birds of Myanmar
- Birds of North Korea
- Birds of the Philippines
- Birds of Russia
- Birds of Singapore
- Birds of South Korea
- Birds of Taiwan
- Birds of Thailand
- Birds of Vietnam