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Little Bittern

Little Bittern

Botaurus minutus

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The Little Bittern is a tiny heron and the smallest breeding heron in Europe, with a long, sharp bill and a talent for disappearing into dense reeds. It breeds across Africa, central and southern Europe, western and southern Asia and Madagascar. Birds from temperate regions winter in Africa and southern Asia, while tropical populations are largely resident.

Did you know?

  • It is the smallest breeding heron in Europe.
  • Once placed in the genus Ixobrychus, it was moved to Botaurus after a 2023 genetic study.

Voice

Flight call

About the species

Identification

A tiny heron. The male has a black crown and back and a large, pale buff panel on the wing, very conspicuous in flight; the female is browner and streaked, and juveniles are even more streaked. It flies low over reeds with rapid wingbeats.

Family

Ardeidae

Size

Medium (thrush)

Colours

brown, orange, black, white

About the habitat

Freshwater wetlands with dense emergent vegetation, especially reedbeds with willows, along lakes, ponds and slow rivers.

Diet

Small fish, frogs and tadpoles and aquatic insects, taken by slow, stealthy stalking in and along reedbeds.

Behaviour

Secretive, solitary and mostly active at dusk; it clambers through reeds and freezes with the bill pointing upward when alarmed. In spring the male defends a territory with a deep, barking “hogh”, repeated every couple of seconds. Pairs nest hidden above water in dense reeds or low bushes; both parents incubate and feed the young.

Sources

Photo: Andreas Trepte, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Zwergdommel.jpg

Sound: Joost van Bruggen, CC BY-SA 4.0 https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Ixobrychus_minutus_-_Little_Bittern_XC431991.mp3

Text: Wikipedia (English), CC BY-SA 4.0 https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_bittern

See also