Malay Night Heron / Tiger Bittern [Gorsachius melanolophus]

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Flora & Fauna

The Malay Night Heron is a rare bird “with a distinctive short, rather arched, heavy dark bill and a lax crest imparting a large headed look.” (Birds of South Asia by Rasmussen and Anderton). According to Salim Ali and Dillon Ripley’s ‘Compact Handbook of the Birds of India and Pakistan’ (second edition), the bird is “an unmistakable relation of the Pond and Night Herons.” The book further describes the bird to be “in many respects similar to those of the Night Heron; largely nocturnal. Excessively shy and difficult to approach or observe, but perhaps less rare than generally believed.” It is also described as a silent bird. Rasmussen and Anderton describe the bird as being “a quiet, elusive, solitary, partly nocturnal forest bird that flies into nearby trees when disturbed.”

Collection:

Nature Collection

Album Name:

Sathasivam collection - Birds

Photograph ID:

001/0387/0005

Album ID:

0387

Photographers:

Kumaran and Ramila Sathasivam are keen naturalists and photographers. Their photographs have appeared in a number of publications, including Blackbuck, the journal of the Madras Naturalists' Society. Kumaran Sathasivam is a 1980s' IIT Madras alumnus. His book A Forest in the City is about his natural history experiences during his student days.