Complete Guide To The American Bittern
Quick Facts About The American Bittern
|
Scientific Name |
Botaurus lentiginosus |
|
Common Name(s) |
American Bittern |
|
Animal Type |
Bird |
|
Diet |
Carnivore |
American Bittern Image Gallery
How To Identify American Bitterns
- American Bitterns are medium-sized birds that grow to 23-34 inches (58 – 86 cm) in length and have:
- Streaked brown plumage
- A thin, white eyebrow stripe over each eye
- A black neck stripe that runs from near the base of their beaks down to the tops of their wings.
- Their yellow eyes are surrounded by a thin ring of yellow skin, their beaks are yellow-brown, and their legs are dull yellow.
- Juvenile American Bitterns look like the adults.
How To Find American Bitterns
American Bitterns migrate into the southeastern United States during the winter months and are never very easy to find in the wild.
These birds are extremely secretive. They live and nest only in wetlands that contain a lot of vegetation that grows out of standing water. They spend most of their time hidden in the shelter of tall reeds and grasses, well camouflaged by their streaky, brown plumage and subdued eye and beak color.
How To Find American Bitterns At Rest
The best way to find American Bitterns at rest in the wild is to gather your patience, go out to a pond, bog, or marsh in late afternoon, and settle in for a long, silent wait. Keep quiet and listen for their calls. It’s easier to hear American Bitterns than to see them, especially when the males call to assert their territorial control to other nearby males.
American Bitterns are very wary and have excellent eyesight. They can spot humans much faster and from farther away than vice versa, and are nearly impossible to find unless you’ve heard one call and can trace the source to a particular stand of reeds.
At rest, American Bitterns are so hard to see because they point their beaks to the sky, and either freeze entirely or sway gently along with the reeds when scared. These birds are the wading bird equivalent of those “Magic Eye” optical illusions; they blend completely into their backgrounds until (if you’re lucky and extremely patient) your eyes resolve their details. If you spot an American Bittern while it’s hiding within tall grass, you’ve earned the right to do some serious bragging. Unless you know that a bird is hidden in a particular patch of tall grass, you’ll likely never see it without some serious time, patience, and luck.
How To Find Hunting American Bitterns
Most casual observers will have better luck spotting American Bitterns while they are hunting. Again, dusk is the best time to try and find these birds. Because they are so wary, I recommend that you use binoculars or a telephoto camera lens to scan the water’s edge from some distance away.
Watch for movement and prepare to be patient. Like all birds in the Heron family, American Bitterns can hold rock-still for many minutes while they wait for prey to come close enough to attack with their sharp beaks.
What American Bitterns Eat
American Bitterns eat mostly fish but also eat other aquatic animals as well, including:
- Frogs
- Crayfish
- Insects
- Small snakes, like juvenile Northern Water Snakes (Nerodia sipedon) and Garter Snakes (Thamnophis sirtalis)
- Hatchling turtles, especially Painted Turtles (Chrysemys picta)
What Eats American Bitterns
American Bitterns face predators at every stage of their life.
Egg predators include:
- Various snakes, like:
- Scarlet Snakes (Cemophora coccinea)
- Milk Snakes (Lampropeltis triangulum)
- Eastern Kingsnake (Lampropeltis getula getula)
- Corn Snakes (Elaphe guttata)
- Black Racers (Coluber constrictor)
- Birds like:
- Common Grackles (Quiscalus quiscula)
- American Crows (Corvus brachyrhynchos)
- Blue Jays (Cyanocitta cristata)
- Mammals like:
- Striped Skunks (Mephites mephites)
- Raccoons (Procyon lotor)
- Red Foxes (Vulpes vulpes)
- Minks (Mustela vison)
These predators wreak havoc on American Bittern eggs. In one study that researched whether American Bitterns nest more than once, 80% of the five total eggs one female bird laid in two subsequent nests were destroyed by predators (Azure et al. 2000, https://doi.org/10.1676/0043-5643(2000)112[0271:FDRABA]2.0.CO;2).
Adult American Bitterns have fewer predators but must still watch out for American Alligators (Alligator mississippiensis) and large Snapping Turtles (Chelydra serpentina).
American Bittern Behavior And Life Cycle
American Bitterns rely on wetlands for survival. As wading birds in the Heron family, they hunt in shallow-water ponds, lakes, marshes, and bogs.
Males are territorial and announce their presence with a booming call. Females are much quieter and much harder to find.
Females lay around 2-4 eggs in shallow nests they construct out of reeds and grasses. Their nests are always close to the water and inconspicuous. Female American Bitterns build the nests and the males help guard them.
American Bitterns feed their hatchlings by regurgitating food into their mouths.
Fun Facts About American Bitterns
- American Bitterns are sometimes called “Thunder-Pumpers” and “Stake-Driver” because the call of the male birds is so loud and booming (Bull and Ferrand Jr. 1994).
- American Bitterns pretend to be just one more reed amongst many when they feel threatened.
- They point their beaks to the air and stretch their necks; their streaked brown and cream plumage helps them blend beautifully into the background vegetation.
American Bittern Classification
|
Phylum |
Chordata |
|
Class |
Aves |
|
Order |
Pelecaniformes |
|
Family |
Ardeidae (Heron family) |
|
Genus |
Botaurus |
|
Species |
B. lentiginosus |
Binomial Name |
Botaurus lentiginosus |
