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The Sunbittern, Eurypyga helias is a bittern
Bittern

Bitterns are a classification of wading birds in the heron family Ardeidae. Species named bitterns tend to be the shorter-necked, often more secretive members of this family....
-like bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
 of tropical regions of the Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
, and the sole member of the family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 Eurypygidae (sometimes spelled Eurypigidae) and genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 Eurypyga.

Biology
The Sunbittern is normally found near wooded streams or creeks at elevations of up to 909 m. It hunts fish and other small vertebrate
Vertebrate

Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata, chordates with Vertebras or Vertebral columns. The grouping sometimes includes the hagfish, which have no vertebrae, but are genetically quite closely related to lampreys, which do have vertebrae....
s much in the same way as heron
Heron

The herons are wading birds in the Ardeidae family. Some are called egrets or bitterns instead of herons.Within the family, all members of the genera Botaurus and Ixobrychus are referred to as bitterns, and - including the Zigzag Heron or Zigzag Bittern - are a monophyletic group within the Ardeidae....
s do. The bird has a generally subdued coloration, with fine linear patterns of black, grey and brown.






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The Sunbittern, Eurypyga helias is a bittern
Bittern

Bitterns are a classification of wading birds in the heron family Ardeidae. Species named bitterns tend to be the shorter-necked, often more secretive members of this family....
-like bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
 of tropical regions of the Americas
Americas

The Americas are the region of the Western hemisphere that consists of the continents of North America and South America with their associated islands and regions....
, and the sole member of the family
Family (biology)

In biological classification, family is a taxonomic rank. Exact details of formal nomenclature depend on the Nomenclature Codes which applies....
 Eurypygidae (sometimes spelled Eurypigidae) and genus
Genus

A genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the classification of living and fossil organisms. The taxonomic ranks are domain , kingdom , phylum, class , order , family , genus, and species....
 Eurypyga.

Biology


The Sunbittern is normally found near wooded streams or creeks at elevations of up to 909 m. It hunts fish and other small vertebrate
Vertebrate

Vertebrates are members of the subphylum Vertebrata, chordates with Vertebras or Vertebral columns. The grouping sometimes includes the hagfish, which have no vertebrae, but are genetically quite closely related to lampreys, which do have vertebrae....
s much in the same way as heron
Heron

The herons are wading birds in the Ardeidae family. Some are called egrets or bitterns instead of herons.Within the family, all members of the genera Botaurus and Ixobrychus are referred to as bitterns, and - including the Zigzag Heron or Zigzag Bittern - are a monophyletic group within the Ardeidae....
s do. The bird has a generally subdued coloration, with fine linear patterns of black, grey and brown. Its remiges however have vividly-colored middle webs, which with wings fully spread show bright eyespots in red, yellow, and black. These are shown to other sunbitterns in courtship and threat displays, or used to startle potential predators. Like some other birds, the Sunbittern has powder down
Powder down

Powder down is a special type of down feathers. They occur in a few groups of apparently unrelated birds and thus are probably evolutionary homoplasies....
.

They build open nests in trees, and lay two eggs with blotched markings. The young are precocial
Precocial

In Biology, the term precocial refers to species in which the young are relatively mature and mobile from the moment of birth or hatching. The opposite developmental strategy is called "altricial", where the young are born helpless....
, but remain in the nest for several weeks after hatching.

Taxonomy


The sunbittern is usually placed in the Gruiformes, but this was always considered preliminary. In some aspects of its morphology
Morphology (biology)

The term morphology in biology refers to form, structure and configuration of an organism. This includes aspects of the outward appearance as well as the form and structure of the internal parts like bones and organs....
 the Sunbittern is close to the herons and their relatives (which include bittern
Bittern

Bitterns are a classification of wading birds in the heron family Ardeidae. Species named bitterns tend to be the shorter-necked, often more secretive members of this family....
s), but this appears to be convergent evolution
Convergent evolution

Convergent evolution describes the acquisition of the same biological trait in unrelated lineages.The wing is a classic example of convergent evolution in action....
 due to similar lifestyles. Altogether, the bird is most similar to another enigmatic bird provisionally placed in the Gruiformes, the Kagu
KAGU

KAGU is a classical music radio station run by Gonzaga University in Spokane, Washington. They broadcast at 88.7 MHz on the FM dial....
. Molecular studies (e.g. Fain & Houde 2004) seem to confirm that the Kagu and Sunbittern are each other's closest living relatives. They are probably not Gruiformes (though the proposed Metaves are just as weakly supported). Altogether, the two species seem to form a minor Gondwana
Gondwana

Gondwana , originally Gondwanaland is the name given to a southern precursor-supercontinent and then as a remnant separated from Laurasia 180- during the breakup of the Pangaea supercontinent that existed about 500 to 200 Annum ago into two large segments.n lineage which possibly also includes the extinct adzebill
Adzebill

The adzebills were two closely related bird species, the North Island Adzebill, Aptornis otidiformis, and the South Island Adzebill, Aptornis defossor, of the extinct family Aptornithidae....
s and/or the mesite
Mesite

The mesites are a family of birds of uncertain affinities. They are smallish, near flightless birds endemic to Madagascar. Generally brownish with paler undersides, they are of somewhat pheasant-like appearance and were initially placed with the Galliformes....
s, and is of unclear relation to the Gruiformes proper. Notably, the Kagu and mesites also have powder down.

The rather comprehensive DNA study by Hackett et al confirms that the sunbittern and the Kagu are close relatives but rather surprisingly it puts these two as a sister group of the swifts, nightjars and hummingbirds.

External links

  • on the Internet Bird Collection
  • at Central Park Zoo
    Central Park Zoo

    The Central Park Zoo is located in Central Park in New York City and run by the Wildlife Conservation Society....
    . Photo by Ferne Spieler.