NATURAL HISTORY · CATALOGUE RECORD
Black Bittern
Botaurus flavicollis (Latham, 1790)
Source-backed taxonomic record
Accepted species in Catalogue of Life’s 11 September 2026 base release. This preserves the source classification and available supporting data; it is not a completed species monograph.
Black Bittern (Ixobrychus flavicollis). Warriewood Wetlands, New South Wales
JJ Harrison · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Image sourceProvider-generated thumbnail requested at 800 pixels; no local editing Local WebP display rendition; resized without cropping.
Open encyclopedia reference
The black bittern (Botaurus flavicollis) is a bittern of Old World origin, breeding in tropical Asia from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Sri Lanka east to China, Indonesia, and Australia. It is mainly resident, but some northern birds migrate short distances. This species was formerly placed in the genus Ixobrychus.
Wikipedia contributors, Black bittern; see linked history · CC BY-SA 4.0 . Plain-text lead excerpt, at most 180 words; no infobox or later sections Retrieved 2026-10-05T03:13:59.764119+00:00. This reference remains separate from the taxonomic record.
Identity & source status
- Scientific name
- Botaurus flavicollis (Latham, 1790)
- Name authority
- (Latham, 1790)
- Common name
- Black Bittern
- Rank
- species
- Accepted status
- accepted
- Kingdom
- Animalia
- Phylum
- Chordata
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
- Family
- Ardeidae
- Genus
- Botaurus
- 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.
- domainEukaryota (Chatton, 1925) Whittaker & Margulis, 1978
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- subphylumVertebrata
- infraphylumGnathostomata
- parvphylumOsteichthyes
- megaclassTetrapoda
- classAves
- orderPelecaniformes
- familyArdeidae Leach, 1820
- genusBotaurus Stephens, 1819
- speciesBotaurus flavicollis (Latham, 1790)
Close classified relatives
These entries share the source’s genus, Botaurus. They are not necessarily the closest relatives established by molecular evidence.
| Species | Classification | Source status |
|---|---|---|
| Black-backed BitternBotaurus dubius (Mathews, 1912) | ArdeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| American BitternBotaurus lentiginosus (Rackett, 1813) | ArdeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
| Pinnated BitternBotaurus pinnatus (Wagler, 1829) | ArdeidaeChordata | Accepted speciesRecorded extant |
Names & synonyms
Names explicitly linked to this accepted taxon in the source. Synonymy can change with revision.
| Recorded name | Source status |
|---|---|
| Ixobrychus flavicollis (Latham, 1790) (Latham, 1790) | synonym |
| Dupetor flavicollis (Latham, 1790) (Latham, 1790) | synonym |
| Ardea flavicollis Latham, 1790 Latham, 1790 | synonym |
Documented distribution
Source distribution statements, not a complete range map. A listed locality is not necessarily a place of origin.
Oceania
Southern Asia
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.
- https://www.itis.gov/servlet/SingleRpt/SingleRpt?search_topic=TSN&search_value=1244979 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:CR94Y. Classification follows source parent identifiers. English common names may vary by region.