From Opus

Photo by Hans&Judy Beste
Cranbourne, Victoria, 1970

Botaurus poiciloptilus

[edit] Identification

75 cm.

• Mottled brown upperparts
• Buff underparts with dark brown stripes
• Pale throat
• Pale eyebrow
• Yellow eyes
• Straight, brownish-yellow bill
• Pale green feet and legs

[edit] Distribution

South-eastern Australia, Tasmania, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Ouvea.

[edit] Taxonomy

Monotypic^[1]

[edit] Habitat

Freshwater wetlands with tall, dense vegetation, particularly bullrushes.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Diet

The diet includes frogs, fish, spiders, insects and snails.

[edit] Breeding

They build nests in secluded places in densely-vegetated wetlands on a platform of reeds; 6 olive-brown eggs are laid.

[edit] References

1. Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
2. .nsw.gov.au

• List of references

[edit] External Links

• View more images of this species on the ABID