Black Bittern

Botaurus flavicollis

Family: Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns · Status: Uncommon migrant · Size: 54–61 cm · Conservation: Least Concern

Range

Occurs from the Indian subcontinent to southern China, Southeast Asia, and northern Australia; northern populations winter in the Thai-Malay Peninsula.

Identification

Male has black upperparts, whitish throat, whitish breast with dense dark streaks, and yellow neck-patch. Female has darker brown upperparts and more rufescent breast-streaks. Juvenile resembles female but crown and upperside feathers have narrow rufous fringes, giving a scaly appearance. Like Cinnamon and Von Schrenck's Bittern, the eye has a dark mark behind the iris giving it a barrel-shaped appearance compared to the clean-looking circular iris in Yellow Bittern. Juvenile Little Heron is smaller and paler with more white streaking below and a more contrasting face pattern.

Habitat

Reedbeds, freshwater marshes, ponds, and mangroves.

Behaviour

Often secretive, hiding in reeds for long periods of time.