Gray-backed bobble
| Gray-backed bobble | ||||||||||||
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Gray-backed bobble ( Ixobrychus sturmii ) |
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||||
| Ixobrychus sturmii | ||||||||||||
| ( Wagler , 1827) |
The dwarf bittern or Schieferdommel ( Ixobrychus sturmii ) is an African relative of the little bittern from the family of herons .
features
With a body length of 27 to 30 cm, it is one of the smallest herons. Her plumage is uniformly slate gray on top. The underside is striped white and gray. Otherwise it is similar to the European bittern . The bill and legs are yellow in color, like this one.
distribution
The gray-backed bobble is native to large parts of Africa . It breeds in almost all African countries south of the Sahara from Mauritania and Ethiopia to South Africa and is only absent in deserts and semi-deserts. The habitat are rivers and lakes with tree-lined banks, swamps or mangroves .
Way of life
The main food of the gray-backed bobble is water beetles and locusts. It eats small frogs, fish, snails and crustaceans less often. It breeds in trees and bushes. The nest is built from dry grass at a height of 50 cm to 4 m above the water level. Three to four eggs are incubated for about fifteen days.
literature
- Josep del Hoyo et al .: Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Edicions, 1992, ISBN 8487334105 .
Web links
- Ixobrychus sturmii in the endangered Red List species the IUCN 2011. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2009. Accessed November 13, 2011th
- Photos of Ixobrychus sturmii in Tenerife