American Bittern
Photo: Walter Siegmund · CC BY 2.5

Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns

American Bittern

Botaurus lentiginosus

LCLeast Concern
Family
Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns (Ardeidae)
Order
Pelecaniformes

Overview

The American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) is a species of wading bird in the heron family. It has a Nearctic distribution, breeding in Canada and the northern and central parts of the United States, and wintering in the U.S. Gulf Coast states, all of Florida into the Everglades, the Caribbean islands and parts of Central America.
It is a well-camouflaged, solitary brown bird that unobtrusively inhabits marshes and the coarse vegetation at the edge of lakes and ponds. In the breeding season it is chiefly noticeable by the loud, booming call of the male.

Summary from Wikipedia, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.

Range and habitat

Breeds Alaska to Mexico; winters to Panama and West Indies.

Range description: AviList Global Avian Checklist.

Sources and further reading

Last updated September 29, 2026.