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5

Black Bittern (Ixobrychus flavicollis) Alternate name(s): "Yellow-necked Bittern", "Yellow-necked Mangrove Bittern" Aboriginal name(s): Race "australis": "wandjima" (WA); "woggal" Size: 55-65 cm Weight: 275-430 g

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Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Black Bitterns are the second-largest bitterns in Australia. Their highly cryptic plumage is dimorphic, i.e. males and females are slightly different. Male Black Bitterns have a black crown, cheeks and nape of the neck. Along the sides of the neck there is a long, prominent yellowish streak on either side. The front of the neck is dark-brown to black, with heavy white streaking. Wings, belly, vent, undertail and tail are all near-black. Females have paler upperparts that are dark grey-brown, rather than almost black, and the front is more yellow-brown, rather than black-and-white. The irises of both sexes are yellow. The straight bill is dark-grey; the legs and feet are yellowish-grey. Juveniles resemble females, with wide buff edge lining of the feathers giving them a scalloped appearance.

Taxonomy, classification See Black Bittern at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Black Bittern is available HERE . Black Bitterns are found over a wide range, through tropical Asia, from south-eastern Pakistan, India and Ceylon to eastern China, Korea and Japan, plus Burma, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, New Guinea, some of the smaller South Pacific islands and Australia. In Australia, Black Bitterns occur only in a few areas, most importantly the tropical North, from the Kimberley, through the Top End of the NT, along the South coast of the Gulf of Carpentaria, throughout Cape York peninsula, along (near-)coastal eastern QLD, down into the northern NSW coastal areas. They are also present on some off-shore islands in that range. There are only occasional sightings farther to the South, near the NSW/VIC border. Very rarely, they are also found inland, in the upper Murray-Darling Basin, on the western side of the Great Dividing Range, in inland NSW. There is also a population of Black Bitterns in a narrow coastal fringe at the SW tip of WA, from Perth to about Albany, WA. Black Bitterns have a preference for mangroves and vegetation along streams and creeks.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "australis" J. Greaves reports first spotting a Black Bittern, race "australis", at Yellow Water billabong, Kakadu NP, NT, in November 2014. M. Mearns spotted a Black Bittern, race "australis", in the Kinkuna section of Burrum Coast NP, near Bundaberg, QLD, in October 2015. In January 2016, J. Greaves reports spotting a Black Bittern, race "australis", at the Parry Creek Road Crossing, Wyndham, WA. M. Eaton found a Black Bittern, race "australis", on the Daintree River, QLD, in December 2018. J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours reports finding a Black Bittern, race "australis", occasionally along the Daintree River, QLD.

Photos

Race "australis"

ADULT

MALE

Frontal view of a male Black Bittern (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Kinkuna section, Burrum Coast NP, near Bundaberg, QLD, October 2015]

Near-frontal view of a male Black Bittern (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Daintree River, QLD, December 2019]

Lateral view of a male Black Bittern (photo courtesy of M. Mearns)
[Kinkuna section, Burrum Coast NP, near Bundaberg, QLD, October 2015]

Lateral view of a Black Bittern taking off from the bank of a creek when spotting the photographer; the yellow side of the neck and the very dark crown suggest that this is a male bird (photo courtesy of J. Greaves)
[Parry Creek Road Crossing, Wyndham, WA, January 2016]

FEMALE

Near-dorsal view of a female Black Bittern (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Daintree River, QLD, December 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a female Black Bittern (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Daintree River, QLD, December 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a female Black Bittern (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Daintree River, QLD, December 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a female Black Bittern (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Daintree River, QLD, December 2018]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Sep - Dec

Eggs: 3 - 5

Incubation period: ca. 23 days

Fledging age: ca. 35 days

The breeding season of the Black Bittern depends on geographical latitude. The period listed in the table above refers to the East of Australia. In the tropical North the breeding season is usually from December to March.

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Basket

Material: Sticks

Height above ground: <15 m

Black Bitterns tend to nest above, or close to, water.

Black Bittern chicks in their nest (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Daintree River, QLD, March 2020]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 44 x 35 mm

Colour: Creamy

Shape: Tapered oval

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Wed, 1 June 2022, 22:01 +00:00