Ixobrychus - Australian Little Bittern, New Zealand Little Bittern, Yellow Bittern, Black Bittern, Least Bittern, Cinnamon Bittern (Paperback)

Chapters: Australian Little Bittern, New Zealand Little Bittern, Yellow Bittern, Black Bittern, Least Bittern, Cinnamon Bittern, Von Schrenck's Bittern, Dwarf Bittern, Stripe-Backed Bittern. Source: Wikipedia. Pages: 43. Not illustrated. Free updates online. Purchase includes a free trial membership in the publisher's book club where you can select from more than a million books without charge. Excerpt: The Australian Little Bittern (Ixobrychus dubius), also known as the Black-backed Bittern or Black-backed Least Bittern, is a little-known species of heron in the Ardeidae family found in Australia and southern New Guinea. Only recently separated from the Little Bittern as a full species, it is one of the smallest herons in the world. The bittern has sometimes been regarded as a subspecies of the Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus), or of the New Zealand Little Bittern (Ixobrychus novaezelandiae). However, molecular evidence has shown that it is more closely related to the Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis) than to the African and Palaearctic forms of the Little Bittern and is now recognised as a full species. At about 30 cm in length (range 2536 cm), and with a weight of about 84 g (range 60-120 g), it is a very small bittern. The adult male has largely black upperparts, including a black cap, while the underparts, as well as the neck, breast and the sides of the head, are rich chestnut. There are large buff patches on the shoulders, conspicuous in flight. The female is duller, brown and streaked on back and crown; immature birds are similar. The irides are yellow, the bill is yellow with a black culmen, and the feet and legs greenish-yellow. In Australia the bittern is found in the south-east of the continent, with most records deriving from the Murray-Darling Basin, as well as patchily along the east coast, and in south-west Western Australia where it is locally common on the Swan Coastal Plain. There are some scattere...More: http://booksllc.net/?id=24523242