Dwarf bittern

{{Short description|Species of bird}} {{Speciesbox | image = DwarfBittern(byMarkTittley).jpg | status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1 | status_ref = <ref name=iucn/> | genus = Botaurus | species = sturmii | authority = (Wagler, 1827) | synonyms = | range_map = Ixobrychus sturmii map.svg | range_map_caption = Range of ''B. sturmii'' {{leftlegend|#FFFF00|Breeding range|outline=gray}}{{leftlegend|#008000|Year-round range|outline=gray}} }}

The '''dwarf bittern''' ('''''Botaurus sturmii''''') is a species of heron in the family Ardeidae that is widely distributed across Sub-Saharan Africa avoiding only the very arid regions. This species was formerly placed in the genus ''Ixobrychus''.

==Taxonomy== The dwarf bittern was formally described in 1827 by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler under the binomial name ''Ardea sturmii''. He specified the type locality as Senegambia. The specific epithet was chosen to honour the German bird artist Johann Sturm who had provided Wagler with a specimen.<ref>{{ cite book | last=Wagler | first=Johann Georg | author-link=Johann Georg Wagler | date=1827 | title=Systema Avium | language=Latin | location=Stuttgart | publisher=sumtibus J.G. Cottae | at=Species 37 [p. 191] | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/54130708 }}</ref><ref>{{ cite web | last=Jobling | first=James A. | title=sturmii | work=The Key to Scientific Names | url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/key-to-scientific-names/search?q=sturmii | publisher=Cornell Lab of Ornithology | access-date=27 February 2025 }}</ref> The dwarf bittern was formerly placed in the genus ''Ixobrychus''.<ref>{{ cite book | editor1-last=Mayr | editor1-first=Ernst | editor1-link=Ernst Mayr | editor2-last=Cottrell | editor2-first=G. William | year=1979 | title=Check-List of Birds of the World | volume=1 | edition=2nd | publisher=Museum of Comparative Zoology | location=Cambridge, Massachusetts | page=241 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/16108881 }}</ref> Molecular genetic studies found that this genus was paraphyletic with respect to ''Botaurus''.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Päckert | first1=M. | last2=Hering | first2=J. | last3=Fuchs | first3=E. | last4=Barthel | first4=P. | last5=Heim | first5=W. | date=2014 | title=Genetic barcoding confirms first breeding record of the Yellow Bittern, ''Ixobrychus sinensis'', (Aves: Pelecaniformes, Ardeidae) in the Western Palearctic | journal=Vertebrate Zoology | volume=64 | issue=2 | pages=251–260 | doi=10.3897/vz.64.e31492 | doi-access=free}}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Hruska | first1=J.P. | last2=Holmes | first2=J. | last3=Oliveros | first3=C. | last4=Shakya | first4=S. | last5=Lavretsky | first5=P. | last6=McCracken | first6=K.G. | last7=Sheldon | first7=F.H. | last8=Moyle | first8=R.G. | date=2023 | title=Ultraconserved elements resolve the phylogeny and corroborate patterns of molecular rate variation in herons (Aves: Ardeidae) | journal=Ornithology | volume=140 | issue=2 | article-number=ukad005 | doi=10.1093/ornithology/ukad005}}</ref> To resolve the non-monophyly the genus ''Ixobrychus'' was merged into ''Botaurus'' which has priority.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1=Chesser | first1=R.T. | last2=Billerman | first2=S.M. | last3=Burns | first3=K.J. | last4=Cicero | first4=C. | last5=Dunn | first5=J.L. | last6=Hernández-Baños | first6=B.E. | last7=Jiménez | first7=R.A. | last8=Johnson | first8=O. | last9=Kratter | first9=A.W. | last10=Mason | first10=N.A. | last11=Rasmussen | first11=P.C. | last12=Remsen | first12=J.V.J. | date=2024 | title=Sixty-fifth Supplement to the American Ornithological Society's Check-list of North American Birds | journal=Ornithology | volume=141 | issue=3 | article-number=ukae019 | doi=10.1093/ornithology/ukae019 | doi-access=free }}</ref><ref name=ioc>{{cite web| editor1-last=Gill | editor1-first=Frank | editor1-link=Frank Gill (ornithologist) | editor2-last=Donsker | editor2-first=David | editor3-last=Rasmussen | editor3-first=Pamela | editor3-link=Pamela C. Rasmussen | date=August 2024 | title=Ibis, spoonbills, herons, Hamerkop, Shoebill, pelicans | work=IOC World Bird List Version 14.2 | url=https://www.worldbirdnames.org/bow/pelicans/ | publisher=International Ornithologists' Union | access-date=27 February 2025 }}</ref> The species is considered to be monotypic: no subspecies are recognised.<ref name=ioc/>

==Distribution== It is found in Angola, Benin, Botswana, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Republic of the Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Equatorial Guinea, Eswatini, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Kenya, Liberia, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Spain (the Canary Islands), Sudan, Tanzania, Togo, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.<ref name=iucn>{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International. |year=2016 |title=''Ixobrychus sturmii'' |volume=2016 |article-number=e.T22697327A93608515 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22697327A93608515.en |access-date=8 August 2021}}</ref> It is a rare vagrant in the Western Palearctic (which consists of Europe, North Africa and the Middle East), with several sightings in the Canary Islands.<ref>{{cite book |last=Svensson |first=Lars |author-link=Lars Svensson (ornithologist) |year=2009 |chapter=Vagrants |title=Collins Bird Guide |edition=2nd |publisher=HarperCollins |page=409 |isbn=978-0-00-726814-6}}</ref> Two individual were observed on the island of Fuerteventura in the Canary Islands in the winter of 2017.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Kratzer |first1=Daniel |last2=Liundy |first2=Vernon |last3=Ławicki |first3=Łukasz |date=January 2018 |title=Two Dwarf Bitterns on Fuerteventura, Canary Islands, in winter of 2017/18 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/327070553 |journal=Dutch Birding |volume=40 |issue=2 |pages=98–101 |access-date=30 April 2020}}</ref>

==Description== It is a small bittern, and the same size as the little bittern, to which it is closely related. ==Conservation== It is designated least concern.<ref name=iucn/>

==References== {{Reflist}}

Category:Botaurus Category:Taxonomy articles created by Polbot