All Topics  
American Bittern

 
American Bittern

 
   Email Print
   Bookmark   Link
 

 

American Bittern
 
 
  Topics American Bittern Topic Home

The American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) is a wading bird of the heron
Heron

The herons are wading birds in the Ardeidae family. Some are called egrets or bitterns instead of herons.Within the family, all members of the genera Botaurus and Ixobrychus are referred to as bitterns, and - including the Zigzag Heron or Zigzag Bittern - are a monophyletic group within the Ardeidae....
 family Ardeidae.

s a large, chunky, brown bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
, very similar to the Eurasian Great Bittern
Great Bittern

The Eurasian Bittern or Great Bittern is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae....
, 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.






Discussion
Ask a question about 'American Bittern'
Start a new discussion about 'American Bittern'
Answer questions from other users
Full Discussion Forum



Encyclopedia


The American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) is a wading bird of the heron
Heron

The herons are wading birds in the Ardeidae family. Some are called egrets or bitterns instead of herons.Within the family, all members of the genera Botaurus and Ixobrychus are referred to as bitterns, and - including the Zigzag Heron or Zigzag Bittern - are a monophyletic group within the Ardeidae....
 family Ardeidae.

Description

It is a large, chunky, brown bird
Bird

Birds are wing, Bipedalismal, endothermic , vertebrate animals that lay egg . There are around 10,000 living species, making them the most numerous tetrapod vertebrates....
, very similar to the Eurasian Great Bittern
Great Bittern

The Eurasian Bittern or Great Bittern is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae....
, 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 01 Web
Like other members of the heron family, the American Bittern feeds in marsh
Marsh

In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland which is subject to frequent or continuous flood . Typically the water is shallow and features Poaceaees, Juncaceaees, Phragmites, typhas, Cyperaless, and other herbaceous plants....
es and shallow ponds, dining on amphibians, fish
Fish

A fish is any marine biology vertebrate animal that is typically ectothermic , covered with scale , and equipped with two sets of paired fins and several unpaired fins....
, insect
Insect

Insects are the biggest class of arthropods and the only ones with wings. They are the most diverse group of animals on the planet. They are most diverse at the equator and their diversity declines toward the poles....
s and reptile
Reptile

Reptiles, or members of the class Reptilia, are air-breathing, cold-blooded vertebrates that have skin covered in scale as opposed to hair or feathers....
s.

This bittern
Bittern

Bitterns are a classification of wading birds in the heron family Ardeidae. Species named bitterns tend to be the shorter-necked, often more secretive members of this family....
 winters in the southern United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 and Central America
Central America

Central America is a central geography region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmus portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast....
. It summers throughout Canada
Canada

Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean....
 and much of the United States. As a long-distance migrant
Bird migration

Bird migration refers to the regular seasonal journeys undertaken by many species of birds. Bird movements include those made in response to changes in food availability, habitat or weather....
, it is a very rare vagrant in Europe, including Great Britain
Great Britain

Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the List of islands by area, and the largest in Europe. With a population of 58.9 million people it is List of islands by population....
 and Ireland
Ireland

Ireland is the List of islands by area in Europe, and the twentieth-largest island in the world. It lies to the north-west of continental Europe and is surrounded by hundreds of islands and islet....
. 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
Subspecies

In biology, subspecies is the taxonomic rank immediately subordinate to a species. A subspecies is a taxonomic group which is less distinct than the Common descent or species from which it originates....
 are accepted today. However, fossil
Fossil

Fossils are the preserved remains or trace fossil of animals, plants, and other organisms from the remote past. The totality of fossils, both discovered and undiscovered, and their placement in fossiliferous Rock formations and sedimentary rock layers is known as the fossil record....
s found in the Ichetucknee River
Ichetucknee River

File:IchetuckneeRiv2006.jpgThe Ichetucknee River is a spring-fed, pristine river in north central Florida. Thousands of people visit the river and springs each year....
, Florida
Florida

Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
, 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
Pleistocene

The Pleistocene is the epoch from 1.8 million to 10,000 years Before Present covering the world's recent period of repeated glaciations. The name pleistocene is derived from the Greek and ....
 (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; E. Choate lists "Bogbumper" and "Stake Driver". Pliny likened the old-world bittern's call to the roaring of a bull, "boatum tauri", whence the generic name Botaurus.

Protected status

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

Under United States Code Title 16, Chapter 7, Subchapter II, the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918 is the United States legislation implementing the convention between the U.S....
.

Links

  • Video on the Internet Bird Collection


Footnotes