The American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae.

It is a large, chunky, brown bird, very similar to the Eurasian Great Bittern, Botaurus stellaris. It is 59-70 cm (23-27 inches) in length, with a 95-115 cm (37 - 45 inch) wingspan.

Although common in much of its range, the American Bittern is usually well-hidden in bogs, marshes and wet meadows. Usually solitary, it walks stealthily among cattails or bullrushes. If it senses that it has been seen, the American Bittern becomes motionless, with its bill pointed upward, causing it to blend into the reeds. It is most active at dusk. More often heard than seen, this bittern has a call that resembles a congested pump.

American Bittern attempting to hide

Like other members of the heron family, the American Bittern feeds in marshes and shallow ponds, dining on amphibians, fish, insects and reptiles.

This bittern winters in the southern United States and Central America. It summers throughout Canada and much of the United States. As a long-distance migrant, it is a very rare vagrant in Europe, including Great Britain and Ireland. This bird nests in isolated places with the female building the nest and the male guarding it. Two or three eggs get incubated by the female for 29 days, and the chicks leave after 6-7 weeks.

No subspecies are accepted today. However, fossils found in the Ichetucknee River, Florida, and originally described as a new form of heron (Palaeophoyx columbiana; McCoy, 1963) were later recognized to be a smaller, prehistoric subspecies of the American Bittern which lived during the Late Pleistocene (Olson, 1974) and would thus be called B. l. columbianus.

This bird's numbers have declined in the southern parts of its range due to habitat loss.

Many of the folk names are given for its distinctive call made by inhaling and exhaling large quantities of air.

Protected status

The American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918.

References and notes

• BirdLife International (2004). Botaurus lentiginosus. 2006 IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. Retrieved on 6 May 2006. Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern

• McCoy, John J. (1963): The fossil avifauna of Itchtucknee [sic] River, Florida. Auk 80(3): 335"?351. PDF fulltext

• National Geographic Society (2002): Field Guide to the Birds of North America. National Geographic, Washington DC. ISBN 0-7922-6877-6

• Olson, Storrs L. (1974): A reappraisal of the fossil heron Palaeophoyx columbiana McCoy. Auk 91(1): 179-180. PDF fulltext

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: American Bittern

Links

• -- Cornell Lab of Ornithology - American Bittern
• -- United States Geological Survey general info on American Bittern
• -- Enature.com -- American Bittern
• -- South Dakota Birds - American Bittern Information and Photos
• IBC Video on the Internet Bird Collection