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Eurasian Bitterns are large herons with a comparatively small body and a long, thick neck. The two sexes are alike and their plumage is highly cryptic. They have a dark cap and moustachial stripes. The sides of the head and neck are vermiculated beige/chestnut. The front is beige with heavy dark-brown speckles. The back is brown, vermiculated with darker brown. The irises are orange. The bill is yellow, with a grey culmen. The legs and feet are greyish-yellow. Juveniles are very similar to adults; however, their facial markings are less pronounced/paler.

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 Eurasian Bittern is available HERE .

There are 2 races of Eurasian Bitterns. Nominate race "stellaris" is found all year round in suitable wetlands scattered through parts of western, central and south-eastern Europe. Elsewhere they are migratory. Their breeding range encompasses the mid-latitude range from about 50 to 60 degrees from about Denmark in the West to far-eastern Siberia in the East. They overwinter in near-coastal Greece, northern Africa (around the Sahara desert), in the lower Euphrates/Tigris valley, on the southern side of the Himalayas and in far-eastern Asia, mostly eastern China and Japan. Race "capensis" occurs only in southern Africa, where they are sedentary from north-eastern South Africa to Zimbabwe and parts of Mozambique. Their winter range extends further, including basically the entire eastern half of southern Africa, to about the border of Zambia and Tanzania.

In Europe, Eurasian Bitterns are present in southern England, various parts of France, parts of the Mediterranean coastline spreading from Gibraltar to the Adriatic Sea, parts of the Danube valley and the northern and eastern coastline of the Black Sea. In winter there is also a population in southern Greece.

Eurasian Bitterns breed exclusively in extensive Phragmite reed beds. They are therefore found in wetlands.

Race "stellaris"