Sunbittern

Taxobox
name = Sunbittern


image_width = 250px
image_caption = Displaying bird
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Gruiformes (but see article)
familia = Eurypygidae
familia_authority = Selby, 1840
genus = "Eurypyga"
genus_authority = Illiger, 1811
species = "E. helias"
binomial = "Eurypyga helias"
binomial_authority = Pallas, 1781

The Sunbittern, "Eurypyga helias" is a bittern-like bird of tropical regions of the Americas, and the sole member of the family Eurypygidae (sometimes spelled Eurypigidae) and genus "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 vertebrates much in the same way as herons 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.

They build domed nests in trees, and lay two eggs with blotched markings. The young are precocial, but remain in the nest for several weeks after hatchingcite book |editor=Forshaw, Joseph|author= Archibald, George W.|year=1991|title=Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds|publisher= Merehurst Press|location=London|pages= 100|isbn= 1-85391-186-0] .

Taxonomy

The sunbittern is usually placed in the Gruiformes, but this was always considered preliminary. In some aspects of its morphology the Sunbittern is close to the herons and their relatives (which include bitterns), but this appears to be convergent evolution due to similar lifestyles. Altogether, the bird is most similar to another enigmatic bird provisionally placed in the Gruiformes, the Kagu. 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 Gondwanan lineage which possibly also includes the extinct adzebills and/or the mesites, 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" [Hackett, S. "et al" (2008) "A Phylogenomic Study of Birds Reveals Their Evolutionary History " "Science" 320 (5884) 1763 - 1768] 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.

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

* Fain, Matthew G. & Houde, Peter (2004): Parallel radiations in the primary clades of birds. "Evolution" 58(11): 2558-2573. doi|10.1554/04-235 [http://biology-web.nmsu.edu/houde/Parallel_radiations.pdf PDF fulltext]

External links

* [http://www.birdlife.org/datazone/species/index.html?action=SpcHTMDetails.asp&sid=2758&m=0 BirdLife Species Factsheet]
* [http://ibc.hbw.com/ibc/phtml/especie.phtml?idEspecie=1329 Sunbittern videos] on the Internet Bird Collection
* [http://www.cpzbook.com/sunbittern.jpgDisplaying Sunbittern] at Central Park Zoo. Photo by Ferne Spieler.