Information: - As with other heron groupings , the taxonomy of these birds has been a source of dispute . Some of these species have been placed with the great herons in Ardea , and conversely the large white species like great egret are occasionally allocated to Egretta . The fact that some of the group are named '' heron '' and some '' egret '' has no taxonomic significance . - Botaurus is a genus of bitterns, a group of wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae. The genus name "Botaurus" was given by the English naturalist James Francis Stephens, and is derived from Medieval Latin "butaurus", "bittern", itself constructed from the Middle English name for the Eurasian Bittern, "Botor". Pliny gave a fanciful derivation from "Bos" (ox) and "taurus" (bull), because the bittern's call resembles the bellowing of a bull. - The herons are the long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae, with 64 recognised species, some of which are referred to as "egrets" or "bitterns" rather than herons. Members of the genera "Botaurus" and "Ixobrychus" are referred to as "bitterns", and, together with the zigzag heron or zigzag bittern in the monotypic genus "Zebrilus", form a monophyletic group within the Ardeidae. Egrets are not a biologically distinct group from the herons, and tend to be named differently because they are mainly white or have decorative plumes. Although egrets have the same build as herons, they tend to be smaller. Herons, by evolutionary adaptation, have long beaks. - Bitterns are a classification of birds in the heron family of Pelican order of wading birds. Species named bitterns tend to be the shorter-necked, often more secretive members of this family. They were called "hferblte" in Old English; the word "bittern" came to English from Old French "butor", itself from Gallo-Roman "butitaurus", a compound of Latin "bti" and "taurus". Bitterns form a monophyletic subfamily in the heron family, the Botaurinae. - Ixobrychus is a genus of bitterns, a group of wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae. "Ixobrychus" is from Ancient Greek "ixias", a reed-like plant and "brukhomai", to bellow. - An egret is a bird that is any of several herons, most of which are white or buff, and several of which develop fine plumes (usually milky white) during the breeding season. - Birds (Aves), also known as avian dinosaurs, are a group of endothermic vertebrates, characterised by feathers, toothless beaked jaws, the laying of hard-shelled eggs, a high metabolic rate, a four-chambered heart, and a lightweight but strong skeleton. Birds live worldwide and range in size from the bee hummingbird to the ostrich. They rank as the class of tetrapods with the most living species, at approximately ten thousand, with more than half of these being passerines, sometimes known as perching birds or, less accurately, as songbirds. - The zigzag heron ("Zebrilus undulatus") is a species of heron in the family Ardeidae, also including egrets and bitterns. It is in the monotypic genus Zebrilus. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, French Guiana, Guyana, Peru, Suriname, and Venezuela. Its natural habitat is subtropical or tropical swamps. What is the relationship between 'egretta' and 'ardeidae'?
parent taxon