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| SCIENTIFIC
CLASSIFICATION |
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| COMMON
NAME: |
sunbittern |
| KINGDOM: |
Animalia |
| PHYLUM: |
Chordata |
| CLASS: |
Aves |
| ORDER: |
Gruiformes |
| FAMILY: |
Eurypygidae |
| GENUS
SPECIES: |
Eurypyga helias |
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| DESCRIPTION: |
The sunbittern has long legs and a slender heron-like
neck with a long bill. It is approximately 45.7
cm (18 in.) in length, with a stout body and relatively
small head. Its body plumage is brown with darker
stripes. The head is almost all black with white
striping above and below the ruby-red eyes. The
sunbittern's neck, breast and shoulders are brown,
while the belly, throat and undertail are white.
Hidden under the brown plumage is a rich orange-chestnut
patch near the tip of each wing. The lower jaw and
legs are bright orange. They are not sexually dimorphic. |
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| SIZE: |
50-60 cm (19-24 in.) total length |
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| DIET: |
Fish, amphibians, crustaceans, and insects |
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| INCUBATION: |
27-28 days |
| CLUTCH
SIZE |
2-3
eggs |
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| LIFE
SPAN: |
15 years in managed conditions |
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| RANGE: |
Guatemala to the Pantanal of southern Brazil/Paraguay |
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| HABITAT: |
Heavily forested country near water |
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| POPULATION: |
GLOBAL |
Not evenly distributed, but are locally abundant |
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| STATUS: |
IUCN |
No data |
| CITES |
No
data |
| USFWS |
No
data |
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| 1. |
Bitterns make nests of sticks, mud and decaying
vegetable material in trees or bushes. Both parents
tend to their clutch. The male and female protect
and feed the chicks in turn during the first two
weeks, never leaving the nest unattended. Later,
the chicks are left alone for several hours each
day while both parents hunt for food. |
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| 2. |
As a sunbittern spreads its wings, a patch of chestnut
and orange appears on the primary wing feathers
and across the tail. This display is primarily used
as a threat or defense rather than courtship and
is typically accompanied by a low hiss and bowing. |
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| 3. |
These birds catch their prey by striking quickly,
using their long neck and spear-like bill. |
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| 4. |
As
it unfolds its tail, the sunbittern shows an enormous
eye-like design, which is often used to frighten
predators. |
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| 5. |
Sunbitterns
are not social birds, so they are often difficult
to locate in the wild. |
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| 6. |
Sunbitterns
are relatively quiet, but they are able to make
a mechanical rattling sound. |
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Sunbitterns are not currently endangered or threatened,
but their populations are shrinking due to habitat
loss. Because they consume a large number of aquatic
animals, they play a crucial role in the population
control of various aquatic systems. |
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| Blake,
Emmet R. Manual of Neotropical Birds, Volume
1. The University of Chicago Press, Chicago,
IL, 1977. |
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Harrison, Dr. C.J.O. Birds Families of the World.
Harry N. Abrams, Inc., New York, NY, 1978. |
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Hoyo, Josep del, et. al. Handbook of the Birds
of the World, Volume 3. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona,
Spain, 1997.
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| Scott,
Sir Peter. The World Atlas of Birds. Crescent
Books, New York, NY, 1974. |
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