CreatureData

Matuku

Botaurus poiciloptilus (Wagler, 1827)

Status not recordedbirds

The matuku (Botaurus poiciloptilus) is a species in the family Ardeidae, order Pelecaniformes. Recorded adults weigh 867.7 g to 1.35 kg. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia.

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Quick facts about the matuku

Weight
867.7 g – 1.35 kg
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Omnivore
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetland
Egg incubation
25 days
Young per litter or clutch
4.75
Lifestyle
Terrestrial
Migration
Partial
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

Where does the matuku live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The matuku is listed for 1 country.

Australia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Australia

Is the matuku endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the matuku classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPelecaniformes
  5. familyArdeidae
  6. genusBotaurus
  7. SpeciesBotaurus poiciloptilus (Wagler, 1827)

Synonyms Ardea poiciloptila, Botaurus melanotus, Botaurus poicilopterus maorianus, Botaurus poiciloptilus maorianus, Botaurus poiciloptilus mathewsi, Botaurus poiciloptilus westralensis

Other names and names in other languages (46)
  • Australasian bitternEnglish
  • Australian bitternEnglish
  • واق أستراليArabic
  • Австралийски воден бикBulgarian
  • Bongorz AostraliaBreton
  • bitó australiàCatalan
  • bukač australskýCzech
  • aderyn bwn AwstraliaWelsh
  • Australsk RørdrumDanish
  • Braunbart-RohrdommelGerman
  • Aŭstralia botaŭroEsperanto
  • Avetoro australianoSpanish
  • lõunahüüpEstonian
  • بوتیمار استرالزیاییPersian
  • australiankaulushaikaraFinnish
  • Butor d'AustralieFrench
  • australski bukavacCroatian
  • ausztrál bölömbikaHungarian
  • Tarabuso australianoItalian
  • オーストラリアサンカノゴイJapanese
  • australinis baublysLithuanian
  • Matuku hūrepoMāori
  • Australische RoerdompDutch
  • AustralrøyrdrumNorwegian Nynorsk
  • australrørdrumNorwegian
  • bąk australijskiPolish
  • pupwiipme
  • بوٹارس پوئسیلوپٹیلسWestern Panjabi
  • Abetouro-da-OceaniaPortuguese
  • Австралийская выпьRussian
  • bučiak matukuSlovak
  • Australazijski vodeni bikSerbian
  • australisk rördromSwedish
  • Avustralya BalabanıTurkish
  • бугай австралійськийUkrainian
  • Vạc rạ Á ÚcVietnamese
  • 褐麻鳽Chinese
  • Australische RohrdommelGerman
  • aŭstralazia botaŭroEsperanto
  • Butor d'AustralasieFrench
  • Butor d’AustralieFrench
  • Tarabuso australasiaticoItalian
  • abetouro-australasiáticoPortuguese
  • abetouro-da-oceâniaPortuguese
  • Socó-boi-marromPortuguese
  • 褐麻鷺Chinese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the matuku

Other species in the same genus Botaurus.

CompareMatuku vs Eurasian bitternMatuku vs Little bitternMatuku vs American bitternMatuku vs Pinnated bittern

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the matuku?

An adult matuku weighs 867.7 g – 1.35 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the matuku live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the matuku for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

What kind of animal is the matuku?

The matuku (Botaurus poiciloptilus) belongs to the family Ardeidae in the order Pelecaniformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Matuku (Botaurus poiciloptilus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/matuku

MLA

“Matuku (Botaurus poiciloptilus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/matuku.

BibTeX
@misc{matuku_2026,
  title = {Matuku (Botaurus poiciloptilus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/matuku},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}