White-crested Tiger-Heron Tigriornis leucolopha Scientific name definitions

56–81 cm (1 Kirtland, C.A.E. and Rogers, E.P. (1997). First record and nesting of White-crested Tiger-Heron Tigriornis leucolophus in The Gambia. Bull. African Bird Club. 4(2): 105-106. Close ). White crest often half-hidden by other feathers, except when raised; otherwise has black crown and nape, buff-barred dark head-sides, neck , back  and wings , with white tips to flight feathers, tail barred black and white, and underparts streaked buff and spotted black; bill  long and slender, with blackish-brown maxilla and yellow-green mandible, eyes yellow, lores and periorbital skin greenish, and legs brown, yellow at rear. Appears more slender than large bitterns, as well as overall darker than, for example, Botaurus stellaris (unlikely to be ever found syntopically), while (if seen) white crest is diagnostic (2 Kushlan, J. A., and J. A. Hancock (2005). The Herons. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Juvenile Nycticorax nycticorax and Calherodius leuconotus are both smaller than the present species and streaked (not barred) with white wing-covert spots. Female gives overall impression of being darker, due to narrower buff barring above; duller pinkish cinnamon below; bill, wings and perhaps overall size (1 Kirtland, C.A.E. and Rogers, E.P. (1997). First record and nesting of White-crested Tiger-Heron Tigriornis leucolophus in The Gambia. Bull. African Bird Club. 4(2): 105-106. Close ) tend to be smaller. Juvenile has much broader barring; generally appears more sandy or rufous, depending on age, although plumage maturation not fully described, much less understood (2 Kushlan, J. A., and J. A. Hancock (2005). The Herons. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ).

Equatorial rainforest belt of W Africa, from Senegal (3 BirdLife International (2013). IUCN Red List for birds. URL: http://www.birdlife.org (download Aug 2013). Close ) E to Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Central African Republic, DRCongo and N Angola.

Typically found at small streams, marshes or swampy areas inside dense primary or secondary (4 Gatter, W. (1997). Birds of Liberia. Pica Press, Aula-Verlag and Yale University Press, Robertsbridge, UK; Wiesbaden, Germany; and New Haven, CT, USA. Close ) forest  . Also on forested riverbanks and in tangled mangrove swamps.

Basically sedentary. Certain indications of vagrancy or some form of migratory movement.

Small fish, crustaceans (crabs, crayfish) (2 Kushlan, J. A., and J. A. Hancock (2005). The Herons. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), spiders, insects, frogs, snakes and lizards, and probably highly opportunistic (2 Kushlan, J. A., and J. A. Hancock (2005). The Herons. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ). Solitary; partially nocturnal, and active mainly around dawn and dusk. Feeding behaviour otherwise undescribed, but on some rivers in Liberia said to regularly fish from small rocky islands in rivers (4 Gatter, W. (1997). Birds of Liberia. Pica Press, Aula-Verlag and Yale University Press, Robertsbridge, UK; Wiesbaden, Germany; and New Haven, CT, USA. Close ), while on Mt Nimba it generally forages along riverbanks (5 Colston, P. R., and K. Curry-Lindahl (1986). The Birds of Mount Nimba, Liberia. British Museum (Natural History) Publication 982. British Museum (Natural History), London, UK. Close ).

Single- or double-noted booming, bittern-like note that may be repeated slowly for typically brief periods and is usually given at dusk or at night; apparently silent when flushed (6 Brown, L. H., E. K. Urban, and K. Newman (1982). The Birds of Africa. Volume 1. Academic Press, London, UK and New York, USA. Close ).

Little known. Season varies locally, tending to coincide with rains; apparently Sept–Oct in Gambia (1 Kirtland, C.A.E. and Rogers, E.P. (1997). First record and nesting of White-crested Tiger-Heron Tigriornis leucolophus in The Gambia. Bull. African Bird Club. 4(2): 105-106. Close ) and Sierra Leone, Sept–Nov in Liberia (where nestlings reported in Nov–Jan) (4 Gatter, W. (1997). Birds of Liberia. Pica Press, Aula-Verlag and Yale University Press, Robertsbridge, UK; Wiesbaden, Germany; and New Haven, CT, USA. Close ), May in Cameroon, Jan in Gabon (2 Kushlan, J. A., and J. A. Hancock (2005). The Herons. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), May–Jul in Angola (7 Dean, W. R. J. (2000). The Birds of Angola: An Annotated Check-list. British Ornithologists’ Union Check-list 18. British Ornithologists’ Union, Tring, UK. Close ), and nests with either eggs (Sept–Oct, Dec–Jan) or nestlings (Oct, Dec–Jan, May–Jun) found almost year-round in Congo-Kinshasa (8 Demey, R., P. Herroelen, and T. Pedersen (2000). Additions and annotations to the avifauna of Congo-Kinshasa (ex-Zaïre). Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 120(3):154–172. Close ), with period of chick feeding coinciding with peak water levels. Solitary. Just three nests described to date (in Congo-Brazzaville, Gambia and Gabon), all fragile platforms of twigs 2–6 m above water, one with approximate dimensions of c. 40 cm across by 10 cm deep (1 Kirtland, C.A.E. and Rogers, E.P. (1997). First record and nesting of White-crested Tiger-Heron Tigriornis leucolophus in The Gambia. Bull. African Bird Club. 4(2): 105-106. Close ), once in mangrove (Rhizophora sp.) (1 Kirtland, C.A.E. and Rogers, E.P. (1997). First record and nesting of White-crested Tiger-Heron Tigriornis leucolophus in The Gambia. Bull. African Bird Club. 4(2): 105-106. Close ); one contained single beige-yellow egg with purple, blue-grey and reddish-brown markings (2 Kushlan, J. A., and J. A. Hancock (2005). The Herons. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ), size 55 mm × 45 mm (2 Kushlan, J. A., and J. A. Hancock (2005). The Herons. Oxford University Press, Oxford, UK. Close ); the others both held single down-covered nestlings (1 Kirtland, C.A.E. and Rogers, E.P. (1997). First record and nesting of White-crested Tiger-Heron Tigriornis leucolophus in The Gambia. Bull. African Bird Club. 4(2): 105-106. Close , 9 King, T. (2011). The birds of the Lesio-Louna and Lefini Reserves, Bateke Plateau, Republic of Congo. Malimbus. 33(1): 1–41. Close ). Incubation at least 29 days, possibly more; chicks have yellowish down, soon replaced with white down.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Generally uncommon to rare, though apparently less so in parts of Gabon  , Congo basin (10 Dowsett-Lemaire, F. (1992). On the vocal behaviour and habitat of the Maned Owl Jubula lettii in south-western Congo. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 112(4): 213-218. Close , 11 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., R. J. Dowsett, and P. Bulens (1993). Additions and corrections to the avifauna of Congo. Malimbus 15:68–80. Close ), Ghana and Liberia (4 Gatter, W. (1997). Birds of Liberia. Pica Press, Aula-Verlag and Yale University Press, Robertsbridge, UK; Wiesbaden, Germany; and New Haven, CT, USA. Close ). Very difficult to see, and consequently little information available on status, population size and general biology, but is known from at least 60 localities across its range, including protected areas such as Korup National Park (Cameroon) (1 Kirtland, C.A.E. and Rogers, E.P. (1997). First record and nesting of White-crested Tiger-Heron Tigriornis leucolophus in The Gambia. Bull. African Bird Club. 4(2): 105-106. Close ), Lesio-Louna Reserve (9 King, T. (2011). The birds of the Lesio-Louna and Lefini Reserves, Bateke Plateau, Republic of Congo. Malimbus. 33(1): 1–41. Close ) and Odzala National Park (12 Dowsett, R.J. and Dowsett-Lemaire, F. (1997). The avifauna of Odzala National Park, northern Congo. Tauraco Res. Rep. 6: 15-48. Close ) (Congo-Brazzaville), Kyobobo National Park (Ghana) (13 Dowsett-Lemaire, F., and R. J. Dowsett (2007). The avifauna of the proposed Kyabobo National Park in eastern Ghana. Malimbus 29(2):61–88. Close ), Cross River National Park and Afi River Forest Reserve (Nigeria) (14 Demey, R., F. Dowsett-Lemaire, and R. J. Dowsett (2003). Notable bird observations from Nigeria, including the first records of Spot-breasted Ibis Bostrychia rara and Yellow Longbill Macroshenus flavicans. Malimbus 25(2):85–94. Close ) and Fazao-Malfakassa National Park (Togo) (15 Radley, P.M. and Campbell, G. (2008). Birds of Fazao-Malfakassa National Park, including the first record for Togo of White-browed Forest Flycatcher Fraseria cinerascens. Bull. Afr. Bird Club 15(2): 113-120. Close ). Only recently confirmed to occur in Gambia (1 Kirtland, C.A.E. and Rogers, E.P. (1997). First record and nesting of White-crested Tiger-Heron Tigriornis leucolophus in The Gambia. Bull. African Bird Club. 4(2): 105-106. Close ). Has disappeared from some localities in E Congo-Kinshasa due to habitat destruction.