Little Bittern

SCI Name:  Ixobrychus minutus
Protonym:  Ardea minuta Syst.Nat.ed.12 ed.12 p.240
Taxonomy:  Pelecaniformes / Ardeidae / Ixobrychus
Taxonomy Code:  litbit1
Type Locality:  Switzerland.
Author:  Linnaeus
Publish Year:  1766
IUCN Status:  Least Concern

DEFINITIONS

IXOBRYCHUS
(Ardeidae; Ϯ Little Bittern I. minutus) Gr. ιξιας ixias  reed-like plant (cf. ιξος ixos  mistletoe); βρυχομαι brukhomai  to bellow (cf. βρυχω brukhō  to gnash the teeth); "G. 74. IXOBRYCHUS **), Sv. Rördrom.   1. minutus:  ...  Nidificat in arundinetis, et ova 5-6 alba ponir. Timidus clamat: gäck, gäck, gäck, gäck!  ...  2. stellaris:  ...  Hab. in locis paludosis arundinetis, passim  ...  Volitans alte clamat, fere ut Corvus: kroah! in terra vero mas murmurat sona violente; huh, huh ter sexies.  ...  ** Hab. genere fere Ardeæ; sed collo plus minusve crassiore femoribusque plerumque parum nudis.  N. gen. e graecis vocis Iξος arundo, et βρυχω fremo desumtum." (Billberg 1828); "Ixobrychus Billberg, Syn. Faun. Scand., 1, pt. 2, 1828, p. 166. Type, by subsequent designation, Ardea minuta Linné. (Stone, Auk, 24, 1907, p. 192.)" (Peters 1931, I, 120).   
Synon. Ardeiralla, Ardetta, Dupetor, Erodiscus, Erythrophoyx, Nannocnus, Xanthocnus.

minutum / minutus
L. minutus  little  < minuere  to make smaller (see also minuta).
● ex “Becque Fleur” of Levaillant 1801-1804, pl. 124 (Anthoscopus).
● ex “Lesser Ibis” (= ☼) of Edwards 1764 (syn. Eudocimus ruber).
● ex “Petit Râle de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 847, and “Little Rail” of Latham 1785 (syn. Hapalocrex flaviventer).
● ex “Little Brown Bittern” of Edwards 1760, and “Blongios” of Brisson 1760 (Ixobrychus).
● "62. MERGUS.  ...  minutus.  5. M. capite griseo lævi. Fn. svec. 115.  Te wezel-coot. Alb. av. l. p. 84. t. 88.  Habitat in Europa.  In alis macula atra, antice & postice alba." (Linnaeus 1758) (syn. Mergellus albellus ♀).
● ex “Petit Gobe-mouche tacheté de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 831, fig. 2 (syn. Myrmotherula brachyura).

SUBSPECIES

Little Bittern (Little)
SCI Name: Ixobrychus minutus minutus
minutum / minutus
L. minutus  little  < minuere  to make smaller (see also minuta).
● ex “Becque Fleur” of Levaillant 1801-1804, pl. 124 (Anthoscopus).
● ex “Lesser Ibis” (= ☼) of Edwards 1764 (syn. Eudocimus ruber).
● ex “Petit Râle de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 847, and “Little Rail” of Latham 1785 (syn. Hapalocrex flaviventer).
● ex “Little Brown Bittern” of Edwards 1760, and “Blongios” of Brisson 1760 (Ixobrychus).
● "62. MERGUS.  ...  minutus.  5. M. capite griseo lævi. Fn. svec. 115.  Te wezel-coot. Alb. av. l. p. 84. t. 88.  Habitat in Europa.  In alis macula atra, antice & postice alba." (Linnaeus 1758) (syn. Mergellus albellus ♀).
● ex “Petit Gobe-mouche tacheté de Cayenne” of d’Aubenton 1765-1781, pl. 831, fig. 2 (syn. Myrmotherula brachyura).

Little Bittern (African)
SCI Name: Ixobrychus minutus payesii
payesii
M. Payés (fl. 1858) collector in Senegal (subsp. Ixobrychus minutus).

Little Bittern (Malagasy)
SCI Name: Ixobrychus minutus podiceps
PODICEPS
(Podicipedidae; Ϯ Great Crested Grebe P. cristatus) L. podex, podicis  vent, anus; pes, pedis  foot  < Gr. πους pous, ποδος podos  foot; the legs of the Great Crested Grebe are set back to the rear of the body, giving rise to a former name “Arsefoot” which may have influenced Latham's coinage; "GENUS LXXIX.  GREBE.  PODICEPS, (Colymbus, Lin.)" (Latham 1787); "Podiceps Latham, 1787, General Synop. Birds, Suppl., p. 294. Type, by subsequent designation (G. R. Gray, 1840, List Gen. Birds, p. 76) and under plenary powers of the International Commission on Zoological Nomenclature, 1956, Opin. Decl. Rend., 13, p. 4, Colymbus cristatus Linnaeus." (Storer in Peters 1979, 1, 2nd. ed., 148).   
Var. Podicepes, Podicipes, Pocicpes.   
Synon. Calipareus, Colymbus, Dytes, Lophaithyia, Otodytes, Pedetaithya, Podicephorus, Proctopus, Thiornis.