Australasian Bittern
Encyclopedia
The Australasian Bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus), also known as the Brown Bittern, is found in south-western and south-eastern Australia
, Tasmania
, New Zealand
, New Caledonia
and Ouvea
. Populations in Australia and New Zealand have declined in the 20th century.
It is a large bittern
, patterned and streaked brown, buff and black, with a pale throat. It is a cryptic
and partly nocturnal species that inhabits densely vegetated wetland
s. It feeds on aquatic animals such as frog
s, eel
s and freshwater crustacean
s. It is a solitary nester on the ground in dense wetland vegetation on trampled reeds and other plants. It has a distinctive booming voice and may be heard more often than seen.
The principal cause of past and ongoing decline is thought to be wetland drainage and degradation. In Australia it is thought to be particularly sensitive to the destruction of drought refugia.
.
The Australasian Bittern is listed as threatened on the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. Under this Act, an Action Statement for the recovery and future management of this species has not been prepared.
On the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, this species is listed as endangered.
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
, New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, New Caledonia
New Caledonia
New Caledonia is a special collectivity of France located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Australia and about from Metropolitan France. The archipelago, part of the Melanesia subregion, includes the main island of Grande Terre, the Loyalty Islands, the Belep archipelago, the Isle of...
and Ouvea
Ouvéa
Ouvéa is a commune in the Loyalty Islands Province of New Caledonia, an overseas territory of France in the Pacific Ocean. The settlement of Fayaoué , on Ouvéa Island, is the administrative centre of the commune of Ouvéa. -Geography:...
. Populations in Australia and New Zealand have declined in the 20th century.
It is a large bittern
Bittern
Bitterns are a classification of birds in the heron family, Ardeidae, a family of wading birds. Species named bitterns tend to be the shorter-necked, often more secretive members of this family...
, patterned and streaked brown, buff and black, with a pale throat. It is a cryptic
Crypsis
In ecology, crypsis is the ability of an organism to avoid observation or detection by other organisms. It may be either a predation strategy or an antipredator adaptation, and methods include camouflage, nocturnality, subterranean lifestyle, transparency, and mimicry...
and partly nocturnal species that inhabits densely vegetated wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s. It feeds on aquatic animals such as frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s, eel
Eel
Eels are an order of fish, which consists of four suborders, 20 families, 111 genera and approximately 800 species. Most eels are predators...
s and freshwater crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s. It is a solitary nester on the ground in dense wetland vegetation on trampled reeds and other plants. It has a distinctive booming voice and may be heard more often than seen.
The principal cause of past and ongoing decline is thought to be wetland drainage and degradation. In Australia it is thought to be particularly sensitive to the destruction of drought refugia.
Conservation status
The Australasian Bittern is listed as Endangered on the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999
The Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 is an Act of the Parliament of Australia that provides a framework for protection of the Australian environment, including its biodiversity and its natural and culturally significant places...
.
The Australasian Bittern is listed as threatened on the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988. Under this Act, an Action Statement for the recovery and future management of this species has not been prepared.
On the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria, this species is listed as endangered.