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Long-Legged WADERS

The long-legged waders are comprised of the egrets, herons, ibises, spoonbills, storks, and flamingos. They are a diverse group, united by their long legs that enable them to wade for food. Their familes and orders are given below:
Egret, Herons: Order Pelecaniformes, Family Ardeidae
Ibis, Spoonbills: Order Pelecaniformes, Family Threskiornithidae
Pelecaniformes also includes Balaenicipitidae (Shoebill); Pelecanidae (Pelicans); Scopidae (Hamerkop)
Storks: Order Ciconiiformes, Family Ciconiidae
Flamingos: Order Phoenicopteriformes, Family Phoenicopteridae



Herons

Order Pelicaniformes    Family Ardeidae

Herons (egrets), Pelicans, and Storks are related. Whether they should be grouped in one, two, or three orders is disputed. The grouping that will be followed here is: Herons - Pelicaniformes; Pelicans - Pelicaniformes; and storks - Ciconiiformes

The Herons and egrets make up the Ardeidae family. Species belonging to genus Ardea are usually considered to be herons and those belonging to genus Egretta are called egrets. However, there is no clear distinction between herons and egrets. Those species that are white or have fancy plumage are usually called egrets. Bitterns also belong to the Ardeidae family. They have 10 retrices (tail feathers) unlike other Ardeidae members which have 12. A common feature of the Ardeidae species is that they fly with their necks retracted, unlike the ibis that fly with their necks outstretched.


Genus Agamia - 1 species

Heron,_Agami  Agamia agami  Found: Central America, northern South America
The Agami Heron has bluish upperparts; light chestnut neck, underpart; white line down center of foreneck; relatively short yellow legs. Preference for shade and overhanging vegetation means that it is rarely seen.
Image by: 1) Gossip Guy 2) Daniel Hinkley - Panama  3) Jerry Oldenettel - Belize  4) David Rodríguez Arias - Costa Rica




Genus Ardea
These are powerful birds with large spear-like bills, long necks and long legs, which hunt by waiting motionless or stalking their prey in shallow water before seizing it with a sudden lunge.

Egret,_Great also Great White Egret Ardea alba   Found: The Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia
The Great Egret has white plumage; yellow bill; black legs. Slightly larger than Great Blue or Gray Herons.
Similar to: Cattle Egret. Great Egret is much bigger and has a proportionally longer neck.
Similar to: Great Blue Heron.  White morph of Great Blue Heron has gray legs; Great Egret has black legs. Great Blue Heron has thicker neck and thicker bill.
Similar to: Intermediate Egret.  Great Egret is larger than Intermediate Egret. Great Egret has a proportionally longer neck. The top of the longer bill of Great Egret nearly aligns with the top of its head; the top of Intermediate Egret's bill is lower relative to the top of its head.
Similar to: Little Egret. Great Egret is much larger than Little Egret. Great Egret can be distinguished by its yellow bill and black feet.
Similar to: Snowy Egret. Great Egret is much larger than Snowy Egret. Great Egret can be distinguished by its yellow bill and black feet.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2, 5, 6, 10) Dick Daniels - New Jersey, Australia  3) Jack Wolf - California     4) Tony Dudley - Australia  6) Ted Grussing 8 Cristiano Crolle - Ticino River, Italy  9) Sandy Cole - Flamingo Gardens in Florida  11) Dick - St. Thomas  12) Dan Langer - Rye, New Hampshire  13) Video by Avibirds.   More vidoes
2) Juvenile, adult  3 - 8) nonbreeding  9 - 12) Breeding


Egret,_Intermediate also Yellow-billed Egret  Ardea intermedia  also  Mesophoyx intermedia   Found: Europe, Asia, Australasia
The Intermediat Egret has white plumage; dark legs; relatively thick yellow bill. Breeding birds may have a reddish or black bill, greenish yellow gape skin, loose filamentous plumes on their breast and back, and dull yellow or pink on their upper legs (regional variations).
Similar to: Great Egret.  Great Egret is larger than Intermediate Egret. Great Egret has a proportionally longer neck. The top of the longer bill of Great Egret nearly aligns with the top of its head; the top of Intermediate Egret's bill is lower relative to the top of its head.
Image by: 1) Lin_Sun_Fong - Taiwan  2) J M Garg  - India   3) Alpsdake - Japan  4) Lip Kee Yap - Australia


Heron,_Black-headed Ardea melanocephala   Found: Africa., Madagascar
The Black-headed Heron has dark gray upperparts; paler underparts; white throat, underwings.
Image by: 1) Arno Meintjes   2) Dick Daniels - Nairobi National Park, Kenya  3) Dick - Masai Mara, kenya    4) Craig Adam - South Africa  5) Dick Daniels - South Africa  6) Dick - Tanzania  7) Dick - Tanzania


Heron,_Cocoi  Ardea cocoi  Found: Central and South America
The Cocoi Heron has gray wings; mainly white neck; black cap that extends below the eyes.
Image by: 1, 2)  Cláudio Timm  - Brazil  3) Nori Almaeda  4) Dario Niz  5) Gustavo_Duran - Argentina



Heron,_Goliath Ardea goliath   Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The Goliath Heron is the largest heron. It has gray back, upper-wings; pale chestnut under-wings; white chin, throat, fore-neck, upper breast; chestnut head, crest, face, back and sides of neck; black streaks along the fore-neck; buffy lower breas, belly.
Similar to: Gray Heron. Gray Heron has white neck; Goliath Heron has chestnut back and sides of neck.
Similar to: Purple Heron. Goliath Heron is substantially larger and has more pronounced black stripes on neck than Purple Heron.
Image by:  1) Arno Meintjes  2, 3, 4, 5) Dick Daniels - St. Lucia, South Africa   6) Sandy Cole - St. Lucia, South Africa 7) Dick - St. Lucia, South Africa   8) Dick - the Jacksonville Zoo in Florida 9) Dick - San Diego Zoo
1) Breeding




Heron,_ Gray Ardea cinerea Found: Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
The Gray Heron has mainly gray upperparts and off-white underparts. It has white head with black supercilium; pinkish-yellow bill.
Similar to: Great Blue Heron. Ranges do not overlap.
Similar to: Goliath Heron. Gray Heron has white neck; Goliath Heron has chestnut back and sides of neck.
Similar to: Purple Heron. Purple Heron has stripe on side of neck. Gray Heron has white neck.
Image by:  1, 2) Arno Meintjes  3) Dick Daniels- Scotland    4) Cristiano Crolle - Manzolino, Italy   5) Dick - South Africa  6) Dick - Nepal  



Heron,_Great-billed  Ardea sumatrana  Found: Australasia
The Great-billed Heron has gray upperparts. neck, breast; whitish belly.
Similar to: Purple Heron. Great-billed Heron is larger and darker than Purple Heron. Great-billed Heron has uniformly colored neck; Purple Heron does not.
Image by: 1) Ralph Green - Australia  2, 3) Jerry Oldenettel - Australia


Heron,_Great Blue Ardea herodias   Found: North America, Central America, Galapagos
The Great Blue Heron mainly gray plumage; darker crown; lighter face.
Similar to: Great Egret.  White morph of Great Blue Heron has gray legs; Great Egret has black legs. Great Blue Heron has thicker neck and thicker bill.
Similar to: Gray Heron. Ranges do not overlap.
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - Galapagos  2) Andy Jones - Florida  3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10) Dick - North Carolina   11) Ted Grussing  12) Linda Westerinen - California
1) Juvenile  2) White morph


Heron,_Humblot's  Ardea humbloti  Found: Madagascar, Comoro Islands and Mayotte.
The Humblot's Heron has mainly gray plumage; black crown.
Image by: 1) David Cook - Madagascar  2) Daniel Vaulot - Madagascar  3) Ross Tsai - Madagascar  4) Amy_McAndrews
1) Juvenile


Heron,_Pied Ardea picata   Found: Australia
The Pied Heron has mainly dark gray plumage; white throat, breast.
Image by:  1) Jutta234 - Frankfurt Zoo  2)  JJ Harrison - Melbourne Zoo  3) Burtonpe - Adelaide Zoo, Australia  4) Geoff_Whalan
4) One adult and rest juveniles


Heron,_Purple  Ardea purpurea  Found: Europe, Asia, Africa, Madagascar
The Purple Heron has purple wings; purplish neck with stripe on sides; gray back; yellow narrow bill.
Similar to: Gray Heron. Purple Heron has stripe on side of neck. Gray Heron has white neck.
Similar to: Goliath Heron. Goliath Heron is substantially larger and has more pronounced black stripes on neck than Purple Heron.
Similar to: Great-billed Heron. Great-billed Heron is larger and darker than Purple Heron. Great-billed Heron has uniformly colored neck; Purple Heron does not.
Image by: 1) Shankar S - Kenya  2) Dick Daniels - South Africa      3) Sandy Cole - St. Lucia    4) Steve Garvie - Kenya  5) Koshy_Koshy   6) Cristiano Crolle - Italy  7) Imran_Shah - Pakistan  8) Shrikant_Rao in India


Heron,_White-bellied  Ardea insignis  Found: eastern Himalayas
The White-bellied Heron has gray upperparts; relatively long neck; grayish-white neck plume; black bill greenish at base and tip; white chin and central parts of underparts; blackish legs.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) Mahesh Lyer - Bhutan  3) Dr. Raju Kasambe


Heron,_White-necked  also Pacific Heron  Ardea pacifica   Found: Australasia
Image by: 1) Dick Daniels - Kuranda Birdworld, Australia  2) birdsaspoetry  3) David_Jenkins  4) Jim Bendon - Indonesia 



Genus Ardeola
These pond herons are stocky species with a short neck, short thick bill, typically buff or brownish back, and colored or streaked foreneck and breast. In summer, adults may have long neck feathers. Ardeola herons are transformed in flight, looking very white due to the brilliant white wings.

Heron,_Chinese Pond Ardeola bacchus Found: Asia
The Chinese Pond Heron has yellow bill with black tip; yellow legs, eyes. Breeding has blue wings; red head, neck, breast, white belly. Nonbreeding grayish-brown mixed with white.
Image by:1) kclama  2, 3) Lip Kee   4, 5) JJ Harrison - Thailand
1) Breeding



Heron,_Indian Pond  Ardeola grayii   Found: India, Africa
The Indian Pond Heron has buff brown back;white wings, bell; yellow bill with black tip; yellow eyes. Breeding has darker mantle.
Image by:  1) Kaippally  2,  3) J M Garg - Kolkata, West Bengal, India 4) Dick Daniels - Jacksonville Zoo in Florida
1) Nonbreeding  2, 3, 4) Breeding


Heron,_Javan Pond  Ardeola speciosa  Found: Southeast Asia
The Javan Pond Heron has yellow bill with black tip; yellow eyes, legs. Breeding has orange, slaty, and white plumage. Nonbreeding has brown flecked with white plumage.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2, 3) Dick Daniels - Tampa's Lowry Park Zoo   4, 6) Dick - Sylvan Heights     5) Sandy Cole - Sylvan Heights
2, 3) Nonbreeding   4, 5, 6) Breeding



Heron,_Malagasy_Pond-  also Madagascar Pond-Heron  Ardeola idae  Found: Africa
The nonbreeding Malagasy Pond-Heron has buff, brown, and black plumage; mainly green bill with black tip; yellow eyes. The breeding Malagasy Pond-Heron is similar to nonbreeding, but with more white.
Image by:  1) Cephas  2) Carol Foil - Rift Valley, Kenya  3) Zak_Pohlen - Madagascar  4) Francesco_Veronesi - Kenya


Heron,_Rufous-bellied  Ardeola rufiventris found: Africa
The Rufous-bellied Heron has gray upperparts, head, breast; rufous belly, wings, tail.
Image by: 1) David Schenfeld  2) Lip Kee Yap  3) Steve Garvie - Kenya  4, 5, 6) Ian White - Botswana
1) Juvenile



Heron,_Squacco   Ardeola ralloides  Found: Europe, Asia, Africa
The Squacco Heron has buff brown back;white wings, bell; yellow bill with black tip; yellow eyes. Breeding has darker mantle.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2,5) Dick Daniels - Parc Tsarasaotra (open bird sanctury in Antananrivo, Madagascar   3) Charlie Westerinen - Botswana  4, 7) Mark S Jobling - Greece 6) Cristiano Crolle - Torrile, Italy



Genus Botaurus
The four Botaurus bitterns are all large chunky, heavily streaked brown birds which breed in large reedbeds. Almost uniquely for predatory birds, the female rears the young alone. They are secretive and well-camouflaged, and despite their size they can be difficult to observe except for occasional flight views.

Bittern, American Botaurus lentiginosus   Found: North America, Central America
The American Bittern has mainly brown plumage; streaked brown and white breast; white throat. Secretive and well camouflaged.
Similar to: Black-crowned Night-Heron (juvenile), Juvenile Black-crowned Heron has mostly yellow bill; American Bittern has dark bill.
Similar to: Green Heron. Green Heron has green on it; American Bittern is brown with white stripes.
Similar to: Least Bittern. American Bittern much larger than Least Bittern. Least Bittern has dark cap; American Bittern does not.
Image by:  1) H Barrison - Washington  2) Alan D. Wilson  - British Columbia  3) Andrea Westmoreland - Florida   


Bittern,_Australasian  Botaurus poiciloptilus  Found: Australia, New Zealand
The Australasian Bittern has mottled brown, black, and buff plumage; light throat.
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans  2) Nick Talbot - Victoria  3) Wayne_Butterworth


Bittern,_Eurasian also Great Bittern  Botaurus stellaris  Found: Europe, Asia
The Eurasina Bittern has mainly brown plumage; streaked brown and white breast; white throat. Secretive and well camouflaged.
Image by: 1) Steve Chilton  2) Stewart Black - west of Glastonbury  3) Jan_Svetlik  4) Biopauker - Austria 


Bittern,_Pinnated  Botaurus pinnatus  Found: Central America, South America
The Pinnated Bittern has mainly brown upperparts with streaks and barring; white underparts with brown streaks; white throat; greenish-yellow legs..
Image by: 1) Cephas   2, 4, 5) Claudio Timm  3) Alastair Rae 




Genus Butorides

Heron,_Green Butorides virescens   Found: North America, Central America
The Green Heron has a green back; greenish gary-black wings; greenish-black cap; chestnut neck with white line down the front; gray underparts; yellowish legs.
Similar to: American Bittern. Green Heron has green on it; American Bittern is brown with white stripes.
Similar to: Black-crowned Night-Heron. Juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron is similar to Green Heron. Juvenile Black-crowned Heron has mostly yellow bill; Green Heron has dark bill.
Similar to: Least Bittern. Green Heron has green on it; Most Least Bittern are brown with white stripes.Adult male Least Bittern is greenish black on back and crown.
Image by:  1, 7) Dick Daniels - North Carolina  2) Dick - California   3) Alan D. Wilson - California  4) Dick - New Jersey   5) Dick - Everglades Natiional Park, Florida   6) Sandy Cole - Flamingo Gardens   7) SCSmithInPhotos - Lakeway, Texas
1, 2) Juvenile


Heron,_Lava Butorides sundevalli   Found: Galapagos Islands
The Lava Heron has slate-gray plumage which helps it blend in with hardened lava.
Image by: 1, 2) Dick Daniels 3, 4) Putneymark at the Galapagos


Heron,_Striated also Little Heron also Green-backed Heron Heron,_ Found: South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia
The Striated Heron has blue-gray back, wings; white underparts; black cap; dark line extends from bill to under eye; yellow legs.
Similar to: Dwarf Bittern. The Dwarf Bittern has uniform upperparts; Striated Heron has some barring to upperparts
Image by: 1) Cephas   2, 5, 6)  Cláudio Timm - Uruguay   3, 4) Dick Daniels - Australia   5, 8, 9) Dick - Morondava, Madagascar
1) Juvenile
´




Genus Cochlearius - 1 species

Heron,_Boat-billed Cochlearius cochlearius Found: Central and South America
The Boat-billed Heron has pale gray upperparts with black upper-mantle; black crown; white face, throat, breast; massive black bill. Distinctly difference in appearance from other herons.
Image by: 1) Patick Coin  2, 3, 4) Dick Daniels - Jacksonville Zoo  5) Dick - National Aviary   6) Charlie Westerinen - Costa Rica


Genus Gorsachius 

Heron,_Japanese Night-  Gorsachius goisagi  Found: east Asia
The Japanese Night-Heron has russet head, neck; dark brown wings; black in center of underparts.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) Lin_Sun_Fong - Taiwan    3, 4, 5) Ken - Osaka 



Heron,_Malayan Night-  Gorsachius melanolophus  Found: southern and eastern Asia, Philippines
The Malayan Night-Heron has reddish-brown plumage with streaked underparts; blue or black crown.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) Byerly - Taipei City 3) a-giau - Taiwan 4) Ainus   5) KC Hung 
1) Juvenile


Heron,_White-backed Night-  Gorsachius leuconotus  Found: sub-Saharan Africa
The White-backed Night-Heron has gray upperparts, head; rufous neck; white eye-ring, lores, underparts.
Image by: 1) Cephas   2) Francesco Veronesi - Malawi 3) Bernard Dupont - South Africa  4. 5) Nik_Borrow



Heron,_White-eared Night-  Gorsachius magnificus  Found: China, Vietnam
The male White-eared Night-Heron has mostly blackish-brown plumage; chestnut neck sides; yellow lores; black bill; blackish head, nape. Female similar but head and neck less distinctlvely marked.
Image by: 1) Cephas  2, 3) Le Manh Hung - Vietnam  4) Marcel Holyoak
2) Juvenile



Genus Ixobrychus
The Ixobrychus bitterns are all small species, their larger relatives being in the genus Botaurus. They breed in large reedbeds, and can often be difficult to observe except for occasional flight views due to their secretive behaviour. Like other bitterns, they eat fish, frogs, and similar aquatic life.

Bittern,_Black  Ixobrychus flavicollis  Found: Asia, Australasia
The Black Bittern has black upperparts; yellowish-white neck sides; brown underparts with white streaks.
Image by: 1) Geoff_Whalan  2) Max Fear  3) Nabarunsadhya 4) Greg Miles


Bittern,_Black-backed also Australian Little Bittern  Ixobrychus dubius  Found: Australasia
The male Black-backed Bittern has mainly black upperparts; narrow black cap; chestnut neck, sides of head, underparts; buff shoulder patches. Female dull brown; streaked on back and crown.
Image by: 1, 2) Tom Tarrant - SE Queensland  3) David_Cook
1, 2) Female 3) Male


Bittern,_Cinnamon  Ixobrychus cinnamomeus  Found: Asia, Indonesia
The male Cinnamon Bittern has uniform cinnamon colored upperparts; buff underparts. Female similar but back and crown are brown. Juvenile like female but heavily streaked brown underparts.
Image by: 1) Gopi Sundar  2) Francesco Veronesi  3) Matt Francey - Malaysia  4) Malay_Mandal - India
1, 2) Female 3, 4) Male


Bittern, Dwarf  Ixobrychus sturmii  Found: Africa
The male Dwarf Bittern  has dark slate-gray upperparts; blue to yellow-green lores, orbital skin; pale buff throat, dark red to red brown iris; upper-breast; tawny belly streaked dark. greenish yellow to yellow legs. Female is paler with a more rufous tinge on belly; yellow iris.
Similar to: Striated Heron. The Dwarf Bittern has uniform upperparts; Striated Heron has some barring to upperparts.
Image by: 1) Ian White - Botswana 2) Mark Tittley - South Africa 


Bittern, Least  Ixobrychus exilis   Found: The Americas
The Least Bittern has white throat and underparts with light brown streaks; brown face, sides of neck; yellow eyes, bill. Male glossy greenish-black back, crown. Female glossy brown back, crown.
Similar to: American Bittern. American Bittern much larger than Least Bittern. Least Bittern has dark cap; American Bittern does not.
Similar to: Black-crowned Night-Heron (juvenile), Juvenile Black-crowned Heron has mostly yellow bill; American Bittern has dark bill.
Similar to: Green Heron. Green Heron has green on it; Most Least Bittern are brown with white stripes.Adult male Least Bittern is greenish black on back and crown.
Image by:  1) Eric Begin - Quebec, CA  2) Ken Schneider - Florida 3) Robert Mathesont - California    4, 5) Mike Baird - Morro Bay, California 6) Mark Vance - Florida  7) Bill Bouton - California



Bittern, Little  Ixobrychus minutus   Found: Europe, Asia, Africa, Australasia 
The Little Bittern has short neck; longish bill; buff underparts. Male has black back, crown. Female has browner back; buff-brown wing patch.
Image by: 1) Marek Szczepanek   2) Jan Svetlik  3) Mick Sway  4) Ferran Pestana   5) Cristiano Crolle - Annone Lake, Italy 
1, 2) Juvenile  3, 4) Female  5) Male



Bittern, Schrenck's  Ixobrychus eurhythmus  Found: Asia, Indonesia, Philippines
The male (von) Schrenck's Bittern has uniform chestnut upperparts; buff underparts; yellow legs, bill. Female has white speckles on chestnut upperparts.
Image by: 1) Naturelly - Singapore  2) Opencage
1) Female  2) Male


Bittern,_Stripe-backed  Ixobrychus involucris  Found: South America
The Stripe-backed Bittern brown upperparts with brown and white stripes; underparts lighter brown striped with white.
Image by: 1) John Gerrard Keulemans 3) Remco_Douma - Uruguay


Bittern, Yellow  Ixobrychus sinensis  Found: Indian Subcontinent east to Japan and Indonesia
The male Yellow Bittern has dull yellow upperparts; chestnut head, neck; buff underparts.. Female's crown, neck, breast are streaked with brown. Juvenile has heavily streaked underparts.
Image by: 1) JJ Harrison - Thailand  2) Melvin Yap - Singapore  3) Steven T   4) Tom Tarrant - Thailand
1, 2) Juvenile  3) female  4) Male



Genus Nycticorax
Adults are short-necked, relatively short-legged and stout herons; they have a black crown and a whitish belly.

Heron,_Black-crowned Night- Nycticorax nycticorax   Found: The Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia
The Black-crowned Night-Heron has black back, crown; white face, throat, breast; gray rest of plumage; red eyes; yellow legs.
Similar to: American Bittern, Green Heron. Juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron is similar to American Bittern and Green Heron. Juvenile Black-crowned Heron has mostly yellow bill; Green Heron and American Bittern have dark bills.
Similar to Yellow-crowned Night-Heron. Adult Yelllow-crowned Night-Heron has yellowish crown stripe, Black-crowned Night-Heron does not. Juvenile Black-crowned has pointed, yellowish bill; juvenile Yellow-crowned has dark, non-pointed bill.
Image by: 1, 2) Dick Daniels - New Jersey  3, 8) Dick - Brookfield Gardens, So. Carolina    4) Ted Grussing  5) Chris Queen    6) Sandy Cole - Flamingo Gardens, Florida   7) Dick Daniels- Kauai, Hawaii   9) Dick - Antananarivo, Madagascar  10) Video by Avibirds.   More vidoes
1, 2, 3, 4) Juvenile



Heron,_Nankeen_Night- also  Rufous Night-Heron  Nycticorax caledonicus   Found: Australia, Indonesia
Image by: 1) Cephas  2) flagstaffotos.com.au  2) Michael Spencer - Jurong Bird Park, Singapore  3) Geoff Whalan 4) Mehmet Karatay - Melbourne Zoo 
1) Juvenile


Heron,_Yellow-crowned night- Nyctanassa violacea   Found: The Americas
Similar to: American Bittern, Green Heron. Juvenile Yellow-crowned Night-Heron is similar to American Bittern and Green Heron. Juvenile Yellow-crowned Heron has small white spots on wings; bitterns do not have white spots.
Similar to Black-crowned Night-Heron. Adult Yelllow-crowned Night-Heron has yellowish crown stripe, Black-crowned Night-Heron does not. Juvenile Black-crowned has pointed, yellowish bill; juvenile Yellow-crowned has dark, non-pointed bill.
Image by: 1) Dick - the Cheasapeak Bay Bridge   2, 3, 4) Dick Daniels - Flamingo Gardens, Florida   5) Sandy Cole - Flamingo Gardens, Florida  6) Dick - Ding Darlng National Wildlife Refuge, Sanibel Island, Florida 
1) Juvenile




Genus  Pilherodius - 1 species

Heron,_Capped   Pilherodius pileatus   Found: Central and South America
The Capped Heron has mainly white plumage; often yellowish neck; black cap.
Image by:  1) Cláudio Timm  - the Amazon, Brazil  2) Jozeias3d  3) Andreas_Trepte



Genus Syrigma - 1 species

Heron,_Whistling  Syrigma sibilatrix   Found: Central and South America
The Whislting Heron has gray upperparts, crown; whitish neck, underparts; blue orbital skin; pink bill with blue at base.
Image by: 1, 3) Gustavo Durán - Argentina  2) José Martins   4) Cristiano Crolle  



Genus Tigriornis- 1 species

Bittern, White-crested  also  White-crested Tiger-Heron  Tigriornis leucolopha  Found: Africa
Image by: 1) Julie Dewilde



Genus Tigrisoma
These Herons are found in Central and South America

Heron,_Bare-throated Tiger- Tigrisoma mexicanum Found: Central and South America
The Bare-throated Tiger-Heron has blackish upperparts with buff barring; black crown; gray sides of head; white boarded with black median-neck-stripe; dull cinnamon brown underparts.
Similar to: Fasciated Tiger-Heron. Bare-throated Tiger-Heron has barring over more of its body than does Fasciated Tiger-Heron. Juveniles extremely similar.
Image by: 1) Patrick Gijsbers  2. 4) Becky_Matsubara - Costa Rica  3) Dominic Sherony - Limon, Costa Rica  4)


Heron,_Fasciated Tiger-  Tigrisoma fasciatum  Found: Mexico, Central America, South America
The Fasciated Tiger-Heron has dark plumage with light barring.
Similar to: Bare-throated Tiger-Heron. Bare-throated Tiger-Heron has barring over more of its body than does Fasciated Tiger-Heron. Juveniles extremely similar.
Image by:1) Jerry Oldenettel - Venezuela  2)  Dominic Sherony  3) Gina


Heron,_Rufescent Tiger-  Tigrisoma lineatum Found: Central America, South America
The Rufescent Tiger-Heron has rufous upperparts, head, neck; short and thick bill; yellow eyes, base of bill. Found in slowly moving streams and swamps.
Image by: 1, 5) Cristiano Crolle - Esteros del Iberà, Argentina    2, 3, 4) Cláudio Timm - the Amazon, Brazil  6) Cristobal Alvarado Minic
1, 2) Juvenile


Genus Zebrilus

Heron,_Zigzag   Zebrilus undulatus   Found: Amazon Basin of South America
The Zigzag Heron has barred brown plumage, lighter on underparts. It is a bittern (10 retrices [tail feathers] instead of 12).
Image by: 1) Joseph Smit  2, 3) Carol Foil  - Ecuador



Genus Zonerodius - 1 species

Bittern,_Forest  Zonerodius heliosylus  Found: New Guinea
Image by: 1) Katerina_Tvardikova  2) hbw.com





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