Butorides+striata

=Striated heron, Butorides striata (Linnaeus, 1758)=
 * For this page, //B. striata// and //B. sundevalli// are considered to be the same species. //B. virescens// is a separate species.

"Unlike you guys, I only do subsistence fishing." Photo credit: Nature production (Permission pending) toc

Diagnostics
Diagnostics of striated heron. Photo credit: Eng Chuan Goh (Permission pending).

1. Dark bill: upper bill brown-black and lower bill dusky green 2. Lore: Dull yellow green with black portions 3. Iris: Orange-yellow, deep orange in courtship. 4. Crown: glossy green-black 5. Chin and throat: white 6. Under eye from bill: Dark line 7. Breast: Light grey 8. Crest: erectile, same colour as crown 9. Back: Dark grey, green cast, longer feathers near tail 10. Flight feathers: Black with buff edges 11. Legs: Glossy orange in courtship. Olive grey and yellow green otherwise **Bird-in-flight identification** Diagnostics of striated heron in flight. Photo credit: Jem Babbington. (Permission granted) 1. Retracted head 2. Obvious yellow soles and hind tarsus 3. Rapid deliberates beats using round wings 4. Low flying

Singapore heron comparison
Table X. Comparison of small-sized adult herons in Singapore. Photo credit: Francis Yap (Permission granted) || Photo credit: Francis Yap (Permission granted) || Photo credit: Alan Ng (Permission granted) || **Juvenile** Table X. Comparison of juvenile striated and black-crowned night heron. Photo credit: Zahidi Hamid (Permission granted) || Photo credit: Francis Yap (Permission granted) ||
 * Common name || Striated Heron || Black-crowned night heron || Malayan night heron ||
 * Photo comparison || [[image:taxo4254/Striated heron on sp comparison.png width="315" height="306"]]
 * Nape plumes || Long black nape plumes || Whitish nape plumes || Long black plume on crest (cf. nape plumes) ||
 * Bill || Black bill with yellow base || Black bill || Dark brown upper bill, greenish lower bill ||
 * Plumage || Slaty gray plumage || Gray-white plumage || Brown plumage with white belly and flank ||
 * Common name || Striated heron (Juvenile) || Black-crowned night heron (Juvenile) ||
 * Photo comparison || [[image:taxo4254/Striated heron juv.jpg width="454" height="316"]]
 * Plumage || Darker brown || Duller brown ||
 * Crown || Darker brown than general plumage || Almost similar to plumage colour ||
 * Bill || Longer and slimmer || Shorter and more stout ||

Distribution and Range
Global distribution and range of //B. striata// The continental range of //B. striata// includes South America, Africa, Asia and Australia where mangroves and swamps are abundant. Distribution data account for post splitting of //B. striata// and //B. virescens//.

Singapore sightings
 ♦ Striated heron are one of the most common small heron in Singapore.  ♦ It is spotted near any water body in Singapore. ♦ Striated heron hotspots include Sungei Buloh Wetland Reserve, Kranji Marshland, Marina Barrage, Gardens by the Bay, Seletar Dam and Lorong Halus.

Where to find
1. In and under bushes next to pools and watercourses 2. Marshland or similar open areas

Reproduction
Eggs 1] ♦Clutch size: 2-5 eggs ♦Colour: Pale green-blue eggs

Incubation ♦Parties: Both male and female ♦Length: ~ 22days ♦Hatching: Asynchronous ♦Hatching period: 3-4 days ♦Aggressive protection: Raised neck and head feathers

Chick 1] ♦Hatchling type: Semi-altricial ♦Period to precocial: One week (Fig. X). ♦Period to leaving nest: ~14 days

Nesting failure 5] ♦Percentage: 61% ♦Reasons 2] : Predation: Water dragon, grey shrike-thrushes, white-bellied sea eagle, //Corvus// spp. Climatic factors: Storms and high tides.

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Nesting record of striated heron at Bishan AMK park in 2013. Video credit: sunch28. (Creative commons)

Left: Egg of striated heron. Photo credit: Didier Descouens (Creative commons). Right: Striated heron chick on branch. Photo credit: Geoff Hutchinson (Permission pending).

Foraging
Diet: ♦Main: Fish ♦Others: Amphibians, spiders, leeches, crustaceans, molluscs, earthworms, polychaete worms, birds, small reptiles and mice Methods: ⋆Standing (Most common) ⋆Walking (Common) ⋆Baiting (Uncommon)

⋆Standing (Most common) 1] Striated herons are ambush predators. It primarily stands in a crouched waiting position next to or near shallow water. While waiting, its body is parallel to the water. This standing position can be maintained for 29-42 minutes before executing a successful strike.

⋆Walking (Common) 1]   Foraging while slow walking or running may also be employed by striated herons. The walking speed may be as slow as 30 seconds just to lift a leg.

⋆Baiting (Uncommon) Several members of Ardeidae are known to bait their prey with plant matter or leftover scraps. Records of striated heron baiting are common compared to other members. The recently split //B. virescens// which occur in the northern hemisphere also have well documented baiting behaviours . . Waiting position of Striated heron. Photo credit: Vincent Ong (Permission Pending).

Striated heron extending neck while striking. Photo credit: Meng Kuang Han (Permission granted). Striated heron capturing prey. Photo credit: Meng Kuang Han (Permission granted). media type="youtube" key="Cl8guq4gl60" width="560" height="315" align="center"

Video: Baiting at Singapore Botanic Gardens in May 2016. Video credit: Richard White. (Permission pending)

Social organisation
2] ♦ Forage: Alone ♦ Nest: Solitary, sometimes family groups ♦ Roosting: Alone

Social behaviour
2] ♦ When alarmed: a) Remain motionless, slowly turning to face intruder. b) Clamber out of nest, climbing onto branch or leaping into mud/water ♦ When nest threatened: a) Alarm calls with extended neck, erected crest and raised body feathers ♦ Courtship 1] :  a) Circle/pursuit flights b) Male call: Skow, Female call: Coo c) Snap & stretch, side-side sway paired display d) Crest raising by male

Life Span
♦Longest: 7.9 years

Parasites and viruses
♦ Cestodes parasites Cestodes parasites are common in striated heron's digestive systems. In a recent study, seven trematode species were found in the oral cavity, small intestines and cloaca of a young striated heron. The numbers can go up to 16 parasites. Striated heron is known to have greater richness of parasites compared to other birds. On an average, birds only host three cestode parasites. This may be attributed to striated herons' diverse diet and proximity to aquatic habitats.

♦ Virus Striated herons are also hosts for viruses such as H5N1 and Venezuelan encephalitis.

Vocalisation
media type="custom" key="28828828" Call of striated heron. Recorded by Frank Lambert. (Creative commons) Not a vocal bird, striated herons rarely call. More common events for calling include : ♦ Courtship (utter sneezing "tch-ahh" and explosive "hoo") ♦ Startle ("kew kew chit chit kew") ♦ Flight (chuckling)

Taxonavigation
Kingdom: Animalia Phylum: Chordata Class: Aves Order: Pelicaniformes Family: Ardeidae Genus: //Butorides// Blyth, 1852 Species: //Butorides striata// (Linneaus, 1758) Phylogenetic tree of Ardeidae. Formerly nested in //Ardea// by Linneaus 1758, it is now within the //Butorides// genus along with other green herons.

Ethymology
Species epithet, //striata//, refers to streaked plumage of immatures.

Geographical variation (subspecies)
⋆ Occurs in Singapore When identifying striated heron outside Singapore, note the high variability in subspecies plumage. Size, neck and head colour may differ greatly. Other variations 1] ♦Old world: Grey, rufous or intermediate (with white) forms. ♦New world: Brown-grey neck forms.
 * < **Subspecies** ||< **Range** ||
 * < //Butorides striata striata// ||< E panama and all South American to n Argentina and Chile ||
 * < //Butorides striata sundevalli// ||< Coasts and mangroves of Galapagos islands ||
 * < //Butorides striata atricapilla// ||< Africa south of the Sahara and islands in Gulf o Guinea ||
 * < //Butorides striata rutenbergi// ||< Madagascar ||
 * < //Butorides striata brevipes// ||< Red Sea environs and n Somalia ||
 * < //Butorides striata crawfordi// ||< Aldabra and Amirante islands ||
 * < //Butorides striata rhizophorae// ||< Comoro Islands ||
 * < //Butorides striata degens// ||< Seychelles ||
 * < //Butorides striata albolimbata// ||< Diego Garcia, Chagos and Maldive islands ||
 * < //Butorides striata chloriceps// ||< Indian subcontinent, Sri Lanka and Laccadive Island ||
 * < //Butorides striata javanica// ⋆ ||< Myanmar and Thailand to Greater Sundas and Mascarene Island ||
 * < //Butorides striata amurensis// ||< Manchuria to ne China, Japan, Ryukyu and Bonin islands ||
 * < //Butorides striata actophila// ||< E China to n Vietnam and n Myanmar ||
 * < //Butorides striata////spodiogaster// ||< Andaman Islands, Nicobar Islands and islands off w Sumatra ||
 * < //Butorides striata carcinophila// ||< Taiwan, Philippines and Sulawesi ||
 * < //Butorides striata steini// ||< Lesser Sundas ||
 * < //Butorides striata moluccarum// ||< Moluccas ||
 * < //Butorides striata papuensis// ||< Aru Islands and nw New Guinea ||
 * < //Butorides striata idenburgi// ||< N-central New Guinea ||
 * < //Butorides striata rogersi// ||< NW Western Australia ||
 * < //Butorides striata cinerea// ||< NE Western Australia ||
 * < //Butorides striata stagnatilis// ||< N-central Australia ||
 * < //Butorides striata littleri// ||< South-central New Guinea and ne Queensland ||
 * < //Butorides striata macrorhyncha// ||< E Queensland, New Caledonia and Loyalty Islands ||
 * < //Butorides striata solomonensis// ||< Melanesia (New Hanover to w Fiji) ||
 * < //Butorides striata patruelis// ||< Tahiti (Society Islands) ||

Nomenclature
♦ First described by Linneaus in 1758. ♦ The Latin text briefly translates to "back gray-striped, ferruginous under the neck, apex of secondary reminges white". ♦ Another subspecies was described in the same page which translated to "reminges dark tans, but secondarily margin white tips". Original description by Linneaus 23] ♦Protonym : //Ardea striata// Linneaus, 1758 ♦ Synonyms :  //Ardea striatus// (Linneaus, 1758)   //Butorides striatus// (Linneaus, 1758) ♦ Vernacular names :  Striated Heron, Little Heron, Green-backed Heron, Mangrove Heron

//Butorides striata//, one species or three species?
♦ The species name //B. striata// is unresolved. Initially, //Butorides virescens// (Green heron from north and central America), //Butorides sundevalli// and //Butorides striata// were grouped together under //B. striata// ♦ In 1990, Sibley and Monroe proposed for //B//. //sundevalli// to be split from //B. striata// based on DNA-DNA hybridisation work. Due to the primitiveness and inaccuracies of DNA-DNA hybridisation, this was not accepted by many ornithologists today. Molecular differentiation has not shown separate species despite morphological differences. 1]  ♦ Later in 2003, the American Ornithologist's Union proposed a further split of //B. striata// to //B. striata// and //B. virescens// 24]. This was based on low hybridisation rates and assortative mating between the two species in Central Panama (where they occur in sympatry). This split was well received 24] Left: //Butorides virescens//. Photo credit: Basar (Wikimedia Commons ). Right: //Butorides striata sundevalli.// Photo credit: Benjamint444 (Wikimedia Commons )

Type specimens
The only existing holotypes are //B. striata// subspecies. The location of original holotype for //B. striata// is unknown. No neotype has been assigned according to GBIF. Type specimen for Singapore's subspecies //B. s. javanicus// can be found in National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution. It was collected from Langkawi island, Malaysia.

Status and conservation
Least concern: ♦Reasons: Large range, slow decline and estimated large population size ♦Issues: //B. striata// in IUCN includes //B. virescens//. //B. virescens// is no longer conspecific with //B. striata.// Population size and range may be artificially inflated.

Threats: ♦Anthropogenic: Human disturbance, pesticides and habitat destruction ♦Use: Food in some countries



Source: The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species Singapore records ♦Most records for striated herons in Singapore are pictures or videos on birding groups such as Bird Ecology Study Group or Bird Sightings ♦Skin specimen of striated heron can be found on display in Lee Kong Chian Natural History Museum. ♦Wee & Wang, 2009 is the only known documentation of striated heron in captivity. The record includes the behaviours and characteristics of a rescued striated heron chick for over a year. References