Lably
Skip to content

Bittern

Subfamily of birds

  • 1 min read
  • 1 chapter
American Bittern Botaurus lentiginosus with frog prey, Seney National Wildlife Refuge, Michigan.
Seney Natural History Association · CC BY-SA 2.0

Related on Lably

Through Heron, Insect and Fish

Lab · Class 9Heron's FormulaLabHeron's FormulaLab · Class 3Insects Around UsLabWho Lives Where?

Bitterns usually frequent reed beds and similar marshy areas and feed on amphibians, reptiles, insects, and fish.

Bitterns, like herons, egrets, and pelicans, fly with their necks retracted, unlike the cranes, storks, ibises, spoonbills, and geese which fly with necks extended and outstretched. The genus Ixobrychus was recently found to be paraphyletic with the Botaurus genus, and Ixobrychus was then merged into Botaurus.

Species

There are currently 14 extant species divided into two genera within Botaurinae:

More in Animals

Monotypic taxonTaxonomic group with only one subordinate taxonSpecies descriptionFormal description of a discovered speciesParaphylyType of taxonomic groupIUCN Red ListInventory of the global conservation status of biological speciesSubtropicsGeographic and climate zoneCommon nameName generally used for a taxon, group of taxa or organism(s)