Little Bittern
Botaurus minutus
Uncommon to locally fairly common but secretive and easily overlooked. Favors fresh marshes and wetlands with reed beds, where clambers high in reeds as well as feeding low along edges. Most likely to be seen in flight, early or late in the day, low over reed beds. Very small for a heron, and rich buffy overall with black cap. Big pale panel on upperwing visible in flight; male has dark back, female back streaked.
Identification
The little bittern has a length of 33–38 centimetres (13–15 in) and a wing span of 52–58 centimetres (20–23 in). It is the smallest of the breeding herons of Europe and is characterised by its tiny size, long and sharp bill and thick neck. The males are distinctively patterned and both sexes show pale forewing panels. The males have black with a faint green sheen on the crown, nape, back, tail and scapulars. The underparts are pale buff and the wing has a pinkish buff oval shaped panel which contrasts with the otherwise black wings and is formed by the inner wing coverts. The underwing is completely whiteish in colour. The female is duller than the male and has brownish black upperparts with paler feather margins visible at close range. The underparts of the female are not as clean as those of the male and are streaked with dark buff and brown. The female's wing panel is less obvious than the male's. The juveniles are duller and more rufous than the females and are more heavily streaked on both their upperparts and underparts, including their wing coverts.
Taxonomy
Carl Linnaeus described the little bittern in 1766. Member of a cosmopolitan superspecies with I. exilis (North and South America), I. sinensis (Asia) and I. dubius (New Guinea, AUS). I. [m.] minutus itself consists of three clearly differentiated subspecies (groups) to which all-species status could be assigned:<p>The Australian little bittern (I. dubius) and the extinct New Zealand little bittern (I. novaezelandiae) were formerly considered subspecies of the little bittern.<p>Comparative studies, especially on shouting / courtship behavior and genetics, are lacking.
- Scientific name
- Botaurus minutus
- Authority
- (Linnaeus, 1766)
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
- Family
- Ardeidae
- Genus
- Botaurus
Range and habitat
The little bittern is native to the Old World, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, western and southern Asia, and Madagascar. Birds from temperate regions in Europe and western Asia are migratory, wintering in Africa and further south in Asia, while those nesting in the tropics are sedentary. It is rare north of its breeding range.<p>In Britain there were intermittent reports of breeding in the nineteenth century, and again in 1946 and 1957, but none of these records were proven. The first proven British breeding record is from Yorkshire in 1984, and the second from the Avalon Marshes in Somerset in 2010, by 2017 this species had been present in this area for nine consecutive years.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
The little bittern is crepuscular, skulking and normally solitary. It feeds on fishes, amphibians and insects which are caught within reedbeds or at their edges by the bird slowly stalking the prey. The male claims a territory in the Spring, advertising his presence with a deep barking or croaking call and the monogamous pair remain together for at least one breeding season. Eggs are laid in a nest situated in dense reedbeds, rushes or bushes above the water from the middle of May and there is a single brood which is normally 5-6 eggs. These are incubated for 17–19 days and the chicks are fledged after 25–30 days.<p>In Europe the little bittern is a migratory species, crossing the Mediterranean from Africa in the early Spring and arriving in their breeding wetlands from mid April onwards. The return to Africa occurs in August and September and there are normally only a few juveniles left in Europe by October. The European breeders migrate as far south as the Eastern Cape and Transvaal.
Conservation
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Soft-plumaged Petrel
Pterodroma mollis
Attractive petrel with a black mask, largely gray above and white below, with a diagnostic dark breast band. Note the heavy dark bill. In flight, exhibits gray underwings and gray and dark brown M-pattern on the back. The rare dark morph has dark underparts, but still retains the distinctive complete breast band, which is the most useful mark separating this species from Fea’s and Zino’s Petrels. Usually encountered well offshore, in towering roller-coaster flights; sometimes follows boats.
New Zealand Fernbird
Poodytes punctatus
Small passerine endemic to New Zealand. Shows extensive brown streaking above with paler coloration underneath. Distinctive long tail has a frayed look. Both sexes and juveniles alike. Patchily distributed across North, South, Stewart, and Snares Islands in wetland habitat, often where vegetation is thick. Can occur in shrubland and tussock grassland. Cryptic bird, heard more often than seen. Gives a sharp “tchip” call and a metallic “u-tick,” often in duet as a pair. Note drooping tail during low flight. Distinguishable from Dunnock by larger size, longer tail, and lighter underparts.
Colombian Chachalaca
Ortalis columbiana
Large chickenlike bird. Restricted to central Colombia; the only chachalaca in its limited range. Plain brown with scaly neck and breast, bare red skin on throat, and rufous outer tail feathers. Sexes similar. Found in forested habitats, including open woodlands and scrubby edges. Usually in small family groups or pairs. Listen for raucous calls, similar to other chachalacas.
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