First described as Ardea fasciata by George Such in 1825 from a specimen collected in Serro do Imbé, Brazil,[2] the fasciated tiger heron is now one of three species assigned to the genus Tigrisoma.

Its beak, which is shorter and stouter than those of other tiger herons,[10] is black above and yellowish-green below,[4] with a slightly arched culmen.

[11] Its range extends from Costa Rica through northwestern Argentina, southeastern Brazil, and Guyana; it has been recorded as a vagrant in Nicaragua.

[13] The fasciated tiger heron is typically solitary, though multiple birds may gather at intervals of several hundred yards (meters) in favored fishing areas.

[1] There is some evidence that the fasciated tiger heron served as a food item for indigenous peoples in Panama (and possibly elsewhere) in the past.

Remains possibly from this species have been found at multiple archeological sites around Panama's Parita Bay.