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Cool Facts |
Photo
taken from:
The
Sibley Field Guide to Birds of Western North America by
David Allen Sibley
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- The American Bittern has a remarkable, though rarely seen,
courtship display. The male arches his back, shortens his neck, dips his
breast forward, and "booms" at the female. Both birds engage in
complicated aerial displays.
- They prefer to freeze, not flush like other herons when approached.
If an observer is nearby, they will often stretch their neck up, bill
pointed towards the sky, and sway from side to side as if imitating
waving reeds.
- They use resounding calls to communicate. These eerie calls have
earned them many nicknames: stake-driver, thunder-pumper, and mire-drum.
- A group of bitterns has many collective nouns, including a "dash",
"freeze", "pint", "pretense" and "siege" of bitterns.
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Description |
Adult Description
- Medium-sized, stocky heron.
- Thick neck and bill.
- Colored in brown, tan, and white stripes.
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Immature Description
Similar to adult. |
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Range Map |
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Taxonomic Hierarchy |
© 2003 Cornell Lab of Ornithology
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Kingdom: |
Animalia |
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Phylum: |
Chordata |
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Subphylum: |
Vertebrata |
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Class: |
Aves |
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Order: |
Ciconiiformes |
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Family: |
Ardeidae |
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Genus: |
Botaurus |
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Species: |
Botaurus lentiginosus |
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Sound |
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A deep pumping "oong-ka-choonk."
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Identification and
Information
See
Anatomy
of a Bird
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Body |
- Length
Range: 58 cm (23 in)
- Weight:
726 g (25.6 oz)
- Size:
Large (16 - 32 in)
- Color
Primary: Brown
- Underparts:
Streaked brown and white.
- Upperparts:
Streaked brown and buff.
- Back
Pattern: Mottled
- Belly
Pattern: Striped or streaked
- Breast
Pattern: Striped or streaked
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Head |
- Bill Shape:
Dagger
- Eye Color:
Yellow, sometimes turning orange-yellow
during courtship.
- Head
Pattern: Eyeline
- Crown Color:
Dark Brown
- Forehead
Color: Dark Brown
- Nape Color:
Dark Brown
- Throat
Color: White
- Cere color:
No Data
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Flight |
- Flight
Pattern: Strong direct flight with deep
rapid wing beats.
- Wingspan
Range: 107-127 cm (42-50 in)
- Wing Shape:
Pointed-Wings
- Tail Shape:
Squared Tail
- Tail
Pattern: Streaked
- Upper Tail:
Brown
- Under Tail:
Brown
- Leg Color:
Bright yellow to green.
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Breeding |
- Breeding Location:
Marshes, freshwater, Swamps
- Breeding Type:
Solitary nester, May be polygamous
- Breeding Population:
Fairly common, Declining in the South
- Egg Color:
Pale brown to olive buff
- Number of Eggs:
2 - 7
- Incubation Days:
24 - 29
- Egg Incubator: Both sexes
- Nest Material:
Grasses, reeds, and cattails.
- Migration: Migratory
- Condition at Hatching: Covered in
down, rusty brown on back, whitish below;
able to sit and hold head up only for brief
periods.
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Other Names |
Similar Species |
- Avetoro norteño [Spanish]
- butor d'Amérique [French]
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- Least Bittern is much smaller with pale wing coverts.
- Juvenile night herons have white spots or streaks on upperparts,
lack black neck slashes, have thicker bills, and lack black primaries
and secondaries.
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Conservation Status |
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Difficult to survey, so few data available. Loss of wetland
habitat and the encroachment of exotic species of marsh
vegetation may pose a threat. |
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Habitat |
Sources used to
Construct this Page: |
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Freshwater or brackish marshes with tall emergent vegetation. |
-
Gibbs, J. P. , S. Melvin, and F. A. Reid. 1992.
American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus). In
The Birds of North America, No. 18 (A. Poole, P. Stettenheim,
and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural
Sciences; Washington, DC: The American Ornithologists¿ Union.
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Food |
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Small fish and insects. |
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Behavior |
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Stalks along reeds, sometimes next to rather deep water, or climbs
on reed stalks, and strikes downward into water with bill. |
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