Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris)

Other Names (World)
Eurasian Bittern, Great Bittern, Common Bittern

Family
Ardeidae (Herons)

Size
70 - 80 cm
Wingspan: 125 - 135 cm

First Described (Guide)
(Linnaeus, 1758)

Habitat
Reedbeds, fresh water swamps and marshes, mainly amongst the thick vegetation. In winter also smaller reedbeds and marshes.

Range (Guide)

Afghanistan (NB), Albania (B) (NB) (P), Algeria, Angola, Armenia (NB), Austria (B) (NB), Azerbaijan (B) (NB), Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus (B) (NB), Belgium (B) (NB) (P), Bosnia and Herzegovina (B), Botswana, Bulgaria (B) (NB), Cambodia, Cameroon (NB), Central African Republic, China (mainland), Croatia (Local Name: Hrvatska) (B) (NB), Cyprus (P), Czech Republic (B) (NB), Denmark (B) (NB), Egypt, Estonia (B) (NB), Finland (B) (P), France (B) (NB) (P), Georgia (B) (P), Germany (B) (NB) (P), Greece (B) (NB) (P), Hungary (B) (NB), India, Iran [Islamic Republic of] (B) (NB), Iraq (B) (NB), Israel (NB), Italy (B) (NB), Japan, Jordan (NB), Kazakhstan (B), Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan (B), Laos, Latvia (B) (NB), Lebanon (NB), Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania (B) (NB), Luxembourg (B) (NB), Macedonia [The Former Yugoslav Republic of] (B) (NB), Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Moldova [Republic of] (B) (NB) (P), Mongolia (B), Montenegro (B) (NB), Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands Antilles (B) (NB), Niger (NB), Nigeria, North Korea, Oman (NB) (P), Pakistan, Palestinian Authority Territories (NB), Philippines, Poland (B) (NB), Portugal (B) (NB), Romania (B) (NB) (P), Russia (Asian) (B), Russia (Central Asian) (B), Russia (European) (B), Saudi Arabia (NB), Serbia (B) (NB), Slovakia (Slovak Republic) (B) (NB), Slovenia (B) (NB), South Africa, South Korea, Spain (B) (NB) (P), Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Sweden (B) (NB), Switzerland (NB), Syrian Arab Republic (P), Taiwan (China), Tajikistan (B), Tanzania [United Republic of], Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey (B) (NB), Turkmenistan (E) (B), Uganda, Ukraine (B) (NB) (P), United Arab Emirates (NB) (P), United Kingdom (B) (NB), Uzbekistan (B), Vietnam, Yemen (P), Zambia (B).

Vagrant to Brunei Darussalam, Congo [The Democratic Republic of the], Eritrea, Ethiopia, Faroe Islands, Gambia, Ghana, Iceland, Ireland (NB), Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Maldives, Norway, Qatar, Senegal, Seychelles, Singapore, Zimbabwe.

Population
Estimated population is 110,000 - 340,000 (2010).

Status LC
For more information see BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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.

Xeno-Canto Sound Files (more (11)...)

Eurasian Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) [XC798497]
by Cedric Mroczko from Grystaviken, Enk\u00f6ping, Uppsala l\u00e4n, Sweden (song)

Eurasian Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) [XC661212]
by Marc Anderson from Lignana, Provincia di Vercelli, Piemonte, Italy (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.
capensis (Schlegel, 1863) - Southern Africa.

References
See References.

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

Files:

JPG files for Great Bittern (Botaurus stellaris) - 10 files

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BirdLife International Species Factsheet.

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