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5

Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) Alternate name(s): "Common Little Bittern" German name(s): "Zwergdommel" Size: 25-36 cm; wing span 40-58 cm Weight: 60-150 g

Europe: Family Group 5 Family Group 5 Table Great Egret Little Egret Cattle Egret Grey Heron Purple Heron Striated Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Squacco Heron Green Heron Little Bittern Eurasian Spoonbill Glossy Ibis White Stork Black Stork Greater Flamingo Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names German birds home page

Similar species

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

Physical description Click here for a physical description Little Bitterns are very small herons with a rufous front (face and breast). Male Little Bitterns have a black back (cap, nape of neck, wings); females have a brown back. The inner wings of both sexes are rufous, the belly and vent are white. The irises of both sexes are yellow. The bill is greyish-yellow, the legs and feet are greenish-yellow. Juveniles have highly cryptic plumage with prominent striation. The brown is creamy to fawn, with heavy rufous streaking, while the back, from the cap down, is dark-grey, with rufous to brown edge lining, most prominently on the wing feathers.

Taxonomy, classification See Little Bittern at Wikipedia . Click here for classification information Little Bitterns, race "dubius", have now been given species status as the Australian Little Bittern ("Ixobrychus dubius").

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to the ebird.org website. The global distribution of the Little Bittern is available HERE . There are 3 accepted races of Little Bitterns, whose combined range extends from parts of Africa and Madagascar to parts of Europe and eastward via Asia Minor and Arabia into south-western and central Asia, as far as Iran and Afghanistan in the South and Kazakhstan and north-western China in the North. Of the 3 races one, nominate race "minutus", is migratory (except for a permanent population in the Nile Delta). They winter in sub-Saharan Africa and southern parts of their Asian range, migrating into mid-latitude Europe and western to central Asia for the breeding season. The other two races are sedentary. Race "payesii" is resident in sub-Saharan Africa, while race "podiceps" is found only on Madagascar. In Europe, Little Bitterns are found as breeding migrants from the South. Their breeding range extends from Iberia and parts of England, via parts of central Europe into most of eastern Europe. They are also present in (near-)coastal regions throughout the Mediterranean, around the Black Sea and basically anywhere in eastern Europe, including European Russia from a line connecting the Danube River with the Caucasus, up to about 55 degrees latitude (the Baltic states). Little Bitterns are usually found in freshwater habitats, mostly in reeds around freshwater lakes, but also reedbeds and other dense vegetation along creeks and in swamps. Sometimes they are also found in wetlands with brackish and saline water.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "minutus" J. Pires reports spotting Little Bitterns, nominate race "minutus", occasionally in wetlands in near-coastal southern Portugal. More photos shown below were taken by M. Eaton in Egypt.

Photos

Race "minutus"

ADULT

MALE

Near-frontal view of a male Little Bittern with nuptial flush, as indicated by the bright-red bill (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, Santa Justa, Coruche, Santarem, Portugal, June 2019]

Near-lateral view of a male Little Bittern with nuptial flush (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, Santa Justa, Coruche, Santarem, Portugal, June 2019]

Frontal view of a male Little Bittern - this bird is smaller than a Common Moorhen! (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2019]

Frontal view of a male Little Bittern in reeds (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2019]

Frontal view of a male Little Bittern (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, November 2013]

Near-frontal view of a male Little Bittern (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, November 2013]

Near-lateral view of a male Little Bittern in cryptic posture (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, November 2013]

Lateral view of a male Little Bittern flushing from cover (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2019]

Lateral view of a male Little Bittern shortly after take-off (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a male Little Bittern; note the somewhat awkward posture (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, September 2019]

Distant near-dorsal view of a male Little Bittern in flight, showing the characteristic upperwing pattern
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Mora, Evora, Portugal, July 2018]

FEMALE

Lateral view of a female Little Bittern (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

Dorsal view of a female Little Bittern ducking into cover (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Elvas, Alentejo, Portugal, September 2018]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of a juvenile Little Bittern (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

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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