Sunbittern
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| Sunbittern Conservation status: Secure | ||||||||||||||
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| Eurypiga helias Pallas, 1781 |
The Sunbittern (Eurypiga helias) is a bittern-like bird of tropical America.
It frequents forest streams, hunting fish in the same way as a heron. The wings are patterned with black, grey and brown, and are displayed in courtship.
The domed nest is built in a tree. Two grey eggs are laid.
Although the sunbittern is usually placed in the Gruiformes, morphologically the Sunbittern is close to the herons and their relatives and there is strong evidence that the Sunbittern is related to another doubtful member of the Gruiformes, the Kagu.
- Order GRUIFORMES
- Family Aramidae: Limpkin
- Family Psophiidae: trumpeters
- Family Rallidae: crakes and rails
- Family Heliornithidae: finfoots and Sungrebe
- Family Rhynochetidae: Kagu
- Family Eurypigidae
- Sunbittern, Eurypiga helias
- Family Cariamidae: seriemas
- Family Otidae: bustards
- Family Gruidae: cranesde:Sonnenralle