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Little Bittern
(Ixobrychus minutus)
: "Common Little Bittern"
 German name(s): "Zwergdommel"
Size: 25-36 cm; wing span 40-58 cm
Weight: 60-150 g
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Similar species |
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Physical description |
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 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.
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Taxonomy, classification |
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See Little
Bittern at Wikipedia  .
Click here for classification information
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Range, habitat, finding this species |
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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
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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.
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Sightings |
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Click here for sighting information
Race "minutus"
We have not seen a Little Bittern, nominate race
"minutus",
in Europe yet. The photos shown below were taken in Egypt.
All photographic information presented on this page has
kindly been contributed by M. Eaton.
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Photos |
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Race "minutus"
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ADULT |
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MALE |
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Lateral view of a male Little Bittern
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]
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IMMATURE/JUVENILE |
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Lateral view of an immature 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.
Breeding
Nest
Eggs
Behaviour
Food
Call/s
