Bittern

Bittern, common name for any member of a subfamily of birds similar to other herons in habits and habitat, although in general they have shorter necks and legs. The plumage is brown, yellow, and black, variously striped and speckled. Bitterns are solitary birds, inhabiting reedy and marshy places. At the approach of a potential predator, they stand motionless with head up and neck vertical so that their brown-streaked plumage makes them almost indistinguishable from the surrounding reeds. The bird is sluggish, and its flight slow and of short duration. When attacked, it uses both its bill and claws for defense. The bittern makes a rude nest of sticks or reeds in its marshy haunts and lays four or five greenish-brown eggs each breeding season. Species of one genus average 71 cm (28 in) in length. The pinnated bittern, the common bittern of Europe, is widely distributed throughout Eurasia, and the American bittern can be found in all parts of the United States and most of Canada. A member of a second genus, the least bittern of North and South America, attains a length of about 33 cm (about 13 in). In both genera of bitterns, the feathers can be erected so as to increase greatly the apparent size of the bird.

Scientific classification: Bitterns make up the subfamily Botaurinae of the family Ardeidae, order Ciconiiformes. The pinnated bittern is classified as Botaurus stellaris, the American bittern as Botaurus lentiginosus, and the least bittern as Ixobrychus exilis.

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