American Bittern
A species of Large bitterns, Also known as Thunder Pumper, Election-bird, Bog Thumper, Dunk-a-doo, Bog Bull Scientific name : Botaurus lentiginosus Genus : Large bitterns
American Bittern, A species of Large bitterns
Also known as:
Thunder Pumper, Election-bird, Bog Thumper, Dunk-a-doo, Bog Bull
Botanical name: Botaurus lentiginosus
Genus: Large bitterns
Content
Description People often ask General Info
Description
The American bittern is a large, chunky, brown bird, very similar to the Eurasian bittern (Botaurus stellaris), though slightly smaller, and the plumage is speckled rather than being barred. It is 58–85 cm (23–33 in) in length, with a 92–115 cm (36–45 in) wingspan and a body mass of 370–1,072 g (0.816–2.363 lb). The crown is chestnut brown with the centers of the feathers being black. The side of the neck has a bluish-black elongated patch which is larger in the male than in the female. The hind neck is olive, and the mantle and scapulars are dark chestnut-brown, barred and speckled with black, some feathers being edged with buff. The back, rump, and upper tail-coverts are similar in color but more finely speckled with black and with grey bases to the feathers. The tail feathers are chestnut brown with speckled edges, and the primaries and secondaries are blackish-brown with buff or chestnut tips. The cheeks are brown with a buff superciliary stripe and a similarly colored mustachial stripe. The chin is creamy-white with a chestnut central stripe, and the feathers of the throat, breast, and upper belly are buff and rust-colored, finely outlined with black, giving a striped effect to the underparts. The eyes are surrounded by yellowish skin, and the iris is pale yellow. The long, robust bill is yellowish-green, the upper mandible being darker than the lower, and the legs and feet are yellowish-green. Juveniles resemble adults, but the sides of their necks are less olive. 
Size
58 cm
Colors
Brown
Black
Yellow
Bronze
White
Life Expectancy
8 years
Nest Placement
Ground
Clutch Size
2 - 7 eggs
Number of Broods
24 - 28 days
Nestling Period
7 - 14 days
Feeding Habits
American Bittern consumes a varied diet including insects, crustaceans, fish, amphibians, reptiles, and small mammals. They feed on water insects, such as dragonflies—often caught midair—and various fish like eels and sunfish. They typically forage in dim light near water, swaying their neck to overcome surface glare, and strike prey with quick head movements, swallowing head first after biting or shaking them to death.
Habitat
American Bittern is typically found in freshwater marshes adorned with dense, tall vegetation, thriving at low altitudes with moderate climates. This bird favors habitats with both fresh and brackish waters, including bogs, marshes, and the vegetated edges of lakes and ponds. American Bittern exhibits flexibility by foraging in wet meadows and pastures. During breeding, it prefers marshes that are less vegetated and shallower than those chosen by its relative, the Least Bittern. In winter, american Bittern migrates to unfrozen waters, often near coastlines in brackish marshes or managed wetlands like wildlife refuges. It may also seek food in dry grasslands and terrestrial areas during this season.
Nest Behavior
The female american Bittern exclusively chooses the site, gathers materials, builds the nest, and cares for the offspring, including incubating the eggs and feeding the chicks. Males do not assist with these duties.
Nest Characteristics
American Bittern's nest is usually located among cattails, bulrushes, and sedges in shallow water, sometimes on dry ground. Constructed by the female, the nest is a mound or platform, lined with fine grasses, 3.5 to 8 inches above water, measuring 10 to 15 inches in diameter.
Dite type
Piscivorous
People often ask
General Info
Sounds
Song
Recording location: United States
Song
Recording location: United States
Behavior
American Bittern exhibit solitary foraging habits, often seen immobile or pacing with wide toes in search of prey, mainly at dawn and dusk. Their camouflage is exceptional; when threatened, they adopt a 'freeze' posture, elongating their neck and bill vertically and swaying to mimic the reeds. While generally asocial, except for migrations and mating, american Bittern engage in fierce territorial displays, showing plumes and spiraling in aggressive aerial pursuits. Mating behaviors include brief copulation and little subsequent interaction. Females may leverage male territories for predator diversion.
Distribution Area
Its range includes much of North America. It breeds in southern Canada as far north as British Columbia, the Great Slave Lake and Hudson Bay, and in much of the United States and possibly central Mexico. It migrates southward in the fall and overwinters in the southern United States of the Gulf Coast region, most notably in the marshy Everglades of Florida, the Caribbean Islands and Mexico, with past records also coming from Panama and Costa Rica. As a long-distance migrant, it is a very rare vagrant in Europe, including Great Britain and Ireland. It is an aquatic bird and frequents bogs, marshes and the thickly-vegetated verges of shallow-water lakes and ponds, both with fresh and brackish or saline water. It sometimes feeds out in the open in wet meadows and pastures.
Species Status
Not globally threatened.
Scientific Classification
Phylum
Chordates Class
Birds Order
Pelicans and Relatives Family
Herons Genus
Large bitterns Species
American Bittern 
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