Boat-billed Heron
Cochlearius cochlearius
Bizarre nocturnal heron of mangroves and freshwater marshes in tropical lowlands; spends the daytime roosting in trees, often in loose groups. Comes out at night to feed along the edge of lakes and rivers. Easily identified by huge ‘boat bill’ and big brown eyes. Adult has black crown, pinkish breast, and silvery gray back; immature pattern similar, but plumage duller and browner overall.
Identification
The boat-billed heron grows to about 54 cm (21 in) long. Adults are pale grey to white in color, with chestnut-colored abdomens and black flanks. The massive, broad, scoop-like bill, which gives rise to this species' name, is mainly black. This bird is also adorned with a crest which is thought to be used in mate attraction as it is larger in males. The sexes are similar in appearance, the main differences being that females are slightly smaller, grayer in appearance, and have shorter crests than males. Newly hatched nestlings have green-yellow skin, with their upperparts covered in gray down feathers. Their upper bill is black and they have green-yellow legs. Juveniles are darker in color than adults and lack a crest.
Taxonomy
In 1760 the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson included a description of the boat-billed heron in his Ornithologie based on a specimen collected in French Guiana. He used the French name La Cuillière and the Latin Cochlearius. Brisson placed the species in a new genus Cochlearius (with the same name as that of the species). When in 1766 the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus updated his Systema Naturae for the twelfth edition, he added 240 species that had been previously described by Brisson. One of these was the boat-billed heron. Linnaeus included a brief description, coined the binomial name Cancroma cochlearia, and cited Brisson's work.<p>Although Brisson coined Latin names, these do not conform to the binomial system and are not recognised by the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature (ICZN). However, Brisson also introduced names for genera and these are accepted by the ICZN. The boat-billed heron is now placed in Brisson's genus and has the tautonym Cochlearius cochlearius. The name Cochlearius is from the Latin cocleare, coclearis, or cochlearium for a "spoon in the form of a snail shell".<p>There are five subspecies:
- Scientific name
- Cochlearius cochlearius
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
- Family
- Ardeidae
- Genus
- Cochlearius
Range and habitat
Boat-billed herons range from Mexico to Peru, Brazil, and northeastern Argentina. They are nonmigratory birds that tend to live in seasonal lagoons and estuaries, and nest in mangroves.
- Migration
- Resident species
Behavior
Migration pattern: Resident species.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
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