Food
Mainly fish, especially eels, occasionally frogs, other amphibians, insects and small mammals.
Voice
A hoarse squawk. A booming uttered by the male during spring, especially at dawn and dusk. A series of, far carrying, several hoots as of a miniature foghorn.
Eurasian Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) [XC797915]
by Ulf Elman from Berkel en Rodenrijs, Lansingerland, South Holland, Netherlands (song)
Eurasian Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) [XC742724]
by Susanne Kuijpers from Gmina Urszulin (near Babsk), W\u0142odawa County, Lublin Voivodeship, Poland (song)
Nest
A mat of roots, on the ground among reeds.
Eggs (Guide)
4 - 6; matt, olive-brown; ellipsoidal. Incubation: about 25 days; by female.
Subspecies
Forms superspecies with Australasian Bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus).
The following 2 subspecies are recognised:
stellaris (Linnaeus, 1758) - Palearctic and Oriental Regions and northern Afrotropical Region.
The Reader's Digest Book of British Birds 1980, 3rd Edition, Drive Publications Ltd ISBN 0 340 25308 8
Birds in Colour Campbell, B., 1960, Penguin Books Ltd
The Pocket Guide to Nest and Eggs Fitter, R.S.R., 1954, Collins
RSPB Handbook of British Birds Holden, P., Cleeves, T., 2002, A & C Black ISBN 0 7136 5713 8
Birds of Britain and Europe Sterry, P., et al., 2001, AA Publishing ISBN 0 7495 3068 5
The Popular Handbook of British Birds Hollom, P.A.D., 1973, H.F. & G. Witherby Ltd ISBN 0 85493 002 7