American Bittern

Botaurus lentiginosusOrder: CICONIIFORMES Family: Bitterns, Herons and Egrets (Ardeidae)

Codes: Common Name: AMBI Scientific Name: BOTLEN ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174856

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Overview

American Bittern: Medium, secretive, heron-like wading bird with stout body and neck, and relatively short legs. Upperparts are streaked brown and buff and underparts are white with brown streaks. Throat is white with black slashes on sides of neck. Strong direct flight with deep rapid wing beats.

Range and Habitat

American Bittern: Breeds from southeastern Alaska, Manitoba, and Newfoundland south to California, New Mexico, Arkansas, and the Carolinas. Spends winters from coastal British Columbia, Illinois, and along the Atlantic coast to Long Island, and south to Costa Rica (rarely) and Greater Antilles. Preferred habitats include freshwater wetlands with tall emergent vegetation.

Topo Map: Long-legged-like Body

Listen to Call

Voice Text

"oong-KA-chunk", "kok-kok-kok"

Interesting Facts

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.

Bird Term Glossary

Author

Gary Owen Dick

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Bird Call Credits: The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Martyn Stewart, http://www.naturesound.org, Redmond, Washington USA. The reuse or copying of bird calls in this database is strictly forbidden.

American Bittern

● Song: "oong-KA-chunk", "kok-kok-kok"

● Foraging & Feeding: American Bittern: Feeds on insects, amphibians, crayfish, and small fish and mammals. When foraging, it relies on stealth while waiting motionlessly for prey to pass by, at which time it darts forward to seize the prey in its bill.

● Breeding & nesting: American Bittern: Usually considered monogamous, but sometimes exhibits polygamy. Female chooses nest site and builds the nest, usually in dense emergent vegetation over water. Nest is constructed of reeds, sedges, cattails, and other vegetation. Two to seven pale brown or olive buff eggs are laid and incubated for 24 to 28 days by the female.

● Similar species: American Bittern: 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.

Flight Pattern

Strong direct flight with deep rapid wing beats.

● Range & Habitat: American Bittern: Breeds from southeastern Alaska, Manitoba, and Newfoundland south to California, New Mexico, Arkansas, and the Carolinas. Spends winters from coastal British Columbia, Illinois, and along the Atlantic coast to Long Island, and south to Costa Rica (rarely) and Greater Antilles. Preferred habitats include freshwater wetlands with tall emergent vegetation.

^BreedingSolitary nester, May be polygamous

^PopulationFairly common, Declining in the South

^MigrationMigratory

^Weight25.6 Ounces

Long-legged-like Body

Underparts

Belly, undertail coverts, chest, flanks, and foreneck.

Upperparts

Back, rump, hindneck, wings, and crown.

Breast

The upper front part of a bird.

4 and 6 letter alpha codes

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Field Guide to Birds of North America