American Bittern
From WikiBird
Contents |
Size
Length: 59-70cm (23.2-27.5in), Wingspan: 95-115cm (37.4-45.2in)
Field Marks
Medium-sized wading bird. Dark brown upperparts. Underparts streaked brown and white. Black malar streak. Yellow bill with dark culmen. Black primaries and secondaries. Sometimes "freezes" with neck held upwards. Immature: similar to adults but lack the malar streak.
Similar species
Least Bittern is much smaller with buff wing coverts. Immature Night-Herons have white spotting or streaking on the upperparts, lack the black malar streak, have thicker bills, and lack the black primaries and secondaries (a useful field mark in flight).
Sounds
More often heard than seen, this bittern has a call that resembles a congested pump.
Feeding & Behavior
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. Feeds on amphibians, fish, insects and reptiles.
Habitat & Nesting
Marshes and shallow ponds, wet meadows.
Range
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 has a occurred as a very rare vagrant in Europe, including Great Britain and Ireland.
Resources
