Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bermuda (B), Bolivia, Brazil, Canada (B), Cayman Islands, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, French Guiana, Guadeloupe, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica (B), Martinique, Mexico, Montserrat, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Puerto Rico, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia, St Vincent and The Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, Turks and Caicos Islands, USA (B), Venezuela.
Vagrant to Iceland, Morocco, Portugal, St Pierre and Miquelon (P), Virgin Islands (British), Virgin Islands (U.S.).
Rarity Status
Currently this species is not classified as a rarity in this country OR information has not been updated.
Population
Estimated population is 130,000 (2010).
Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) [XC705518]
by Paul Driver from Ochopee, Collier County, Florida, United States (call)
Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) [XC714695]
by Hern\u00e1n Arias from Tillman Road Wildlife Management Area (near Clarence), Erie County, New York, United States (song)
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) and Yellow Bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis).
The following 6 subspecies are recognised:
exilis (Gmelin, 1789) - South-eastern Canada and eastern USA, western USA to Baja California, central America and Caribbean.
pullus van Rossem, 1930 - North-western Mexico.
erythromelas (Vieillot, 1817) - Eastern Panama through Guianas to south-eastern Brazil and Paraguay.
BirdLife International Species Factsheet