White-crested Tiger Heron

Open encyclopedia reference

The white-crested tiger heron (Tigriornis leucolopha), also known as the white-crested bittern, is a species of heron in the monotypic genus Tigriornis and a member of the family Ardeidae. It is widely distributed across the African tropical rainforest, often occurring near small streams and marshes. This heron exhibits unobtrusive black, brown and buff coloration and possesses a white crest, which may be viewed when erected. Not much is known about this heron or its behaviors, although it is known to feed on the small fish, crustaceans, frogs, snakes and insects which inhabit rivers or river shores. Despite its elusiveness, it is found over a broad range and has been assessed by the International Union for Conservation of Nature as "Least Concern". Due to threats such as habitat destruction and poaching for use in medicine, its population has been decreasing over time.

Wikipedia contributors, White-crested tiger heron; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T11:17:46.824408+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.

Identity & source status

Scientific name

Tigriornis leucolopha (Jardine, 1846)

Name authority

(Jardine, 1846)

Common name

White-crested Tiger Heron

Rank

species

Accepted status

accepted

Kingdom

Animalia

Phylum

Chordata

Class

Aves

Order

Pelecaniformes

Family

Ardeidae

Genus

Tigriornis

Extinction status

Recorded extant

Classification family tree

Nested taxonomic groups from the source. This is not a direct-ancestor chain, a dated evolutionary tree or a phylogenetic reconstruction.

1. domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
2. kingdomAnimalia
3. phylumChordata
4. subphylumVertebrata
5. infraphylumGnathostomata
6. parvphylumOsteichthyes
7. megaclassTetrapoda
8. classAves
9. orderPelecaniformes
10. familyArdeidae Leach, 1820
11. genusTigriornis Sharpe, 1895
12. speciesTigriornis leucolopha (Jardine, 1846)

Close classified relatives

No other member of this genus is present in the selected snapshot.

Browse 37 records assigned to Ardeidae.

Names & synonyms

Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.

Documented distribution

Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.

Source literature & publication evidence

References attached to this source record, including nomenclatural citations where supplied. This is a selected bibliography; abbreviated citations remain in the source’s form.

1. https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=824146 Source fields: Taxon.tsv dwc:namePublishedIn, Taxon.tsv dcterms:references

Origins, evidence & remaining research

Name authority and publication references document nomenclature where the source supplies it. They do not establish evolutionary origins or the earliest fossil occurrence.

Specimen-level evidence, morphology, ecological research, phylogenetic studies, a comprehensive bibliography and a located literary passage have not yet been compiled for this record.

Dataset citation & attribution

This exact taxon in ChecklistBank · Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11

Catalogue of Life 2026-09-11; dataset 316321; doi:10.48580/dgz5n. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/ . Retrieved 5 October 2026.

Stable key: col:56W64. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.