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 LC    Striated Heron* Id (Atlas): 193
    Butorides striata

Description
Image of Striated Heron
Striated Heron
© 2005 Peter Fuller
 

Other Scientific Names
Butorides striatus [Dowsett and Forbes-Watson (1993)], [Cramp and Simmons (1977 - 1994)], [BirdLife International (2004)]

Other Names (World)
Green-backed Heron, Striated Heron, Little Heron, Little Green Heron, Green Heron, Mangrove Heron, Red-mangrove Bittern, Red-mangrove Heron, Johny Mangrove, Mangrove Jack, Thick-billed Bittern

Family
Ardeidae (Herons)

Size
43 - 51 cm

First Described
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Derivation
Bu-to-rï'-dës - Fr., butor, bittern; -ides, from Gk, eidos, form = like: stri-ä'-tus - L., striped

Abundance
LC

Common in the north, uncommon vagrant in the south-east.

Habitat
Mangroves, tidal waterways and nearby mudflats, exposed reefs, jetties, piles, anchored boats, sea-walls, floodplain wetlands, swamp-woodlands, freshwater lakes.

Range (Guide)
Angola (B) (NB), Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, British Indian Ocean Territory (B), Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China (mainland), Colombia, Comoros, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Côte dIvoire, Djibouti, Ecuador, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, French Guiana, French Polynesia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guam (NB), Guinea, Guinea-bissau, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B) (NB), Israel (B), Japan, Kenya, Laos, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives (B), Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, Micronesia [Federated States of] (NB), Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, New Caledonia, Niger, Nigeria, North Korea (B), Northern Mariana Islands (NB), Oman (B), Pakistan, Palau (NB), Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Réunion, Russia (Asian), Rwanda, Sâo Tomé e Principe, Saudi Arabia (B) (NB), Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Taiwan (China), Tanzania [United Republic of], Thailand, Timor-Leste (B) (NB), Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay (B), Vanuatu (B) (NB), Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.

Vagrant to Bahrain, Christmas Island, Falkland Islands (Malvinas), Jordan, St Helena, St Vincent and The Grenadines.

Unknown to Anguilla, Antigua And Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Guadeloupe, Martinique, Montserrat, St Kitts And Nevis, St Lucia.

Image of Range of Striated Heron
© 2004 Birdpedia (Last update: 08/11/2005)
Coastal Australia, south to about Shark Bay, WA in the west to Jervis Bay, NSW in the east.
 
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.

Population
Estimated population is 150,000 - 1,200,000 (2010).

Status LC
Habitat destruction, human disturbance and pesticides are the main threats.

Probably secure.

For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

Habits
Singly or in pairs.

Food
Fish and crustaceans.

Voice
A sneeze-like 'kew', 'tch-aah'. When startled a scratchy 'kew, kew, chit, chit, kew'. Also an explosive 'hoo'.

(13Kb) © ? (1)


Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (105)...)

 
Striated Heron (Butorides striata) [XC707586]
     by Peter Boesman from Pak Sha O, Sai Kung District, New Territories, Hong Kong, China (nocturnal flight call)

 
Striated Heron (Butorides striata) [XC825261]
     by JAYRSON ARAUJO DE OLIVEIRA from Haiwan Forest Park, Fengxian, Shanghai, China (call, flight call)

Breeding Season
September - March.

J F M A M J J A S O N D
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   


Nest
A loose structured platform composed of sticks, placed in a tree, uaually a mangrove, growing in or near water.

Eggs
3 or 4; chalky green-blue; oval; about 42 x 31 mm. Incubation: 21 - 25 days; by both sexes.

Young
Semi-altricial, nidicolous. Fledge in about 28 days.

Subspecies
Striated Heron (Butorides striata) and Galapagos Heron (Butorides sundevalli) (Sibley and Monroe 1990, 1993) have been lumped into Butorides striata following AOU (2003).

Subspecies virescens and sundevalli often treated as full species.

The following 31 subspecies are recognised:

  • striata (Linnaeus, 1758)   -  Eastern Panama and all southern America south to northern Chile and northern Argentina.
  • anthonyi (Mearns, 1895)   -  Western USA, northern Baja California. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Green Heron (Butorides virescens).
  • frazari (Brewster, 1888)   -  Southern Baja California. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Green Heron (Butorides virescens).
  • virescens (Linnaeus, 1758)   -  Eastern and central USA to Panama. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Green Heron (Butorides virescens).
  • bahamensis (Brewster, 1888)   -  Bahamas. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Green Heron (Butorides virescens).
  • sundevalli (Reichenow, 1877)   -  Galápagos Islands. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Galapagos Heron (Butorides sundevalli).
  • atricapilla (Afzelius, 1804)   -  Africa south of Sahara and islands in Gulf of Guinea.
  • rutenbergi (Hartlaub, 1880)   -  Madagascar.
  • brevipes (Hemprich & Ehrenberg, 1833)   -  Red Sea and northern Somalia.
  • crawfordi Nicoll, 1906   -  Aldabra and Amirante Is.
  • rhizophorae Salomonsen, 1934   -  Comoros Is.
  • degens Hartert, 1920   -  Seychelles.
  • albolimbata Reichenow, 1900   -  Diego Garcia, Chagos and Maldive Is.
  • chloriceps (Bonaparte, 1855)   -  Indian Subcontinent, Laccadives, Sri Lanka.
  • javanica (Horsfield, 1821)   -  Burma and Thailand south to Greater Sundas; Reunion, Mauritius and Rodrigues.
  • amurensis (Schrenck, 1860)   -  Manchuria east to Sakhalin, south to Shantung and Korea, Japan, Ryukyu and Bonin Is.
  • actophila Oberholser, 1912   -  Eastern China to northern Viet Nam and northern Burma.
  • spodiogaster Sharpe, 1894   -  Andomans, Nicobars and islands off western Sumatra.
  • carcinophila Oberholser, 1924   -  Taiwan, Philippines and Sulawesi.
  • steini Mayr, 1943   -  Lesser Sundas.
  • moluccarum Hartert, 1920   -  Moluccas.
  • papuensis Mayr, 1940   -  North-western New Guinea and Aru Is.
  • idenburgi Rand, 1941   -  North-central New Guinea.
  • rogersi Mathews, 1911   -  North-western western Australia.
  • cinerea Mayr, 1943   -  North-eastern Western Australia.
  • stagnatilis (Gould, 1848)   -  North-central Australia.
  • littleri Mathews, 1912   -  South-central New Guinea, north-eastern Queensland.
  • macrorhyncha (Gould, 1848)   -  Eastern Queensland, New Caledonia and Loyalty Islands.
  • solomonensis Mayr, 1940   -  Melanesia from New Hanover to western Fiji.
  • patruelis (Peale, 1849)   -  Tahiti, Society Is.
  • flyensis Salomonsen, 1966   -  South-central, south-eastern New Guinea.


Similar Species
Adult rufous with Nankeen Night Heron (Nycticorax caledonicus) which is larger with white to off-white underparts, with uniform rufous upperparts, and all yellow legs.

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References
See References.

The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9