Difference between revisions of "Little Bittern" - BirdForum Opus

Photo © by Steve Garvie
S'Albufera de Mallorca

Ixobrychus minutus

Identification

27-38 cm (10½-15 in) in length, 40-58 cm wingspan and 60-150 g weight.
Buff underparts, black back and crown, wings are black with a large white patch on each wing.
The female has a browner back and a buff-brown wing patch.

Distribution

Female
Photo © by john-henry
Lesvos, Greece, May 2004

Photo © by Steve.Jonesy
Algarve, Portugal, June 2019

Africa, central and southern Europe, western and southern Asia, and Australasia.
Europe: Iceland, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Faroe Islands, The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, France, Portugal, Madeira, Spain, Ibiza, Mallorca, Canary Islands, Monaco, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, Germany, Austria, Italy, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Belarus, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Slovakia, Hungary, Slovenia, Croatia, Yugoslavia, Montenegro, Serbia, Albania, Macedonia, Greece, Crete, Corfu, Malta, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine
Northern Africa: Morocco, Algeria, Tunisia, Libya, Egypt
Western Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Ivory Coast, Ghana, Togo, Nigeria, Niger, Chad, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola
Eastern Africa: Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Djibouti, Somalia, Kenya, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Zanzibar, Zambia, Mozambique, Malawi
Southern Africa: Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, South Africa, KwaZulu-Natal, Lesotho, eSwatini
African Islands: Cape Verde, Gulf of Guinea Islands, Sao Tome, Principe, Madagascar
Middle East: Turkey, Cyprus, Syria, Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Iraq, Iran, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Georgia
Asia: Russia, Siberia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Mongolia, China, Nepal, Pakistan, India, Eastern and Western Himalayas
The Caribbean: vagrant to Barbados^[3].

Taxonomy

Subspecies

There are 3 subspecies^[1]:

I. m. minutus:

Central and southern Europe to Siberia; North Africa

I. m. payesii:

Africa south of the Sahara

I. m. podiceps:

Madagascar

Black-backed Bittern was split from this species.

Habitat

Reedbeds

Behaviour

Breeding

It nests on platforms of reeds in shrubs, and 4-8 eggs are laid.

Diet

Diet includes insects, fish and amphibians.

Vocalisation

References

Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
Avibase
51st supplement to the AOU checklist of North American birds

List of references

Recommended Citation

BirdForum Opus contributors. (2024) Little Bittern. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 15 June 2024 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Little_Bittern.

External Links

Search for photos of Little Bittern in the gallery

Search for videos of Little Bittern in the gallery

GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
-;Ixobrychus minutus
+[[Image:Little_Bittern.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo &copy; by {{user|Steve+G|Steve Garvie}} <br /> [[S'Albufera es Grau (S'Albufera des Grao)|S'Albufera de Mallorca]]]]
-[[Image:Little_Bittern.jpg|thumb|550px|right|Photo by Steve Garvie]]
+;[[:Category:Ixobrychus|Ixobrychus]] minutus
 ==Identification==
-Location:  S'Albufera de Mallorca
+-38 cm (10½-15 in) in length, 40-58 cm wingspan and 60-150 g weight.<br />
+Buff underparts, black back and crown, wings are black with a large white patch on each wing.<br />
-It is a very small bittern; at 27-36 cm in length, 40-58 cm wingspan and 60-150 g weight, it is one of the smallest herons in the world, equalled only by other species of Ixobrychus. It has a short neck, longish bill and buff underparts. The male's back and crown are black, and the wings are black with a large white patch on each wing. The female has a browner back and a buff-brown wing patch.
+The '''female''' has a browner back and a buff-brown wing patch.
 ==Distribution==
-The Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) is a wading bird in the heron family Ardeidae, native to the Old World, breeding in Africa, central and southern Europe, western and southern Asia, and Australasia. Birds from temperate regions in Europe and western Asia are migratory, wintering in Africa and further south in Asia, while those nesting in the tropics are sedentary. It is rare north of its breeding range.
+[[Image:15559little-bittern-fem.jpg|thumb|350px|right|Female<br />Photo &copy; by {{user|john-henry|john-henry}}<br />Lesvos, [[Greece]], May 2004]]
+[[Image:A2E89296-D0B2-4D22-B226-807CBCDC76E6.jpeg|thumb|350px|right|Photo &copy; by {{user|Steve.Jonesy|Steve.Jonesy}}<br />[[Algarve]], [[Portugal]], June 2019]]
+[[Africa]], central and southern [[Europe]], western and southern [[Asia]], and [[Australasia]].<br />
+'''Europe''': [[Iceland]], [[Norway]], [[Sweden]], [[Finland]], [[Faroe Islands]], The [[Netherlands]], [[Belgium]], [[Luxembourg]], [[France]], [[Portugal]], [[Madeira]], [[Spain]], [[Ibiza]], [[Mallorca]], [[Canary Islands]], [[Monaco]], [[Switzerland]], [[Liechtenstein]], [[Germany]], [[Austria]], [[Italy]], [[Estonia]], [[Latvia]], [[Lithuania]], [[Belarus]], [[Poland]], [[Czechoslovakia]], [[Slovakia]], [[Hungary]], [[Slovenia]], [[Croatia]], [[Yugoslavia]], [[Montenegro]], [[Serbia]], [[Albania]], [[Macedonia]], [[Greece]], [[Crete]], [[Corfu]], [[Malta]], [[Bulgaria]], [[Romania]], [[Ukraine]]<br />
+'''Northern Africa''': [[Morocco]], [[Algeria]], [[Tunisia]], [[Libya]], [[Egypt]]<br />
+'''Western Africa''': [[Mauritania]], [[Senegal]], [[The Gambia]], [[Guinea-Bissau]], [[Guinea]], [[Mali]], [[Sierra Leone]], [[Liberia]], [[Ivory Coast]], [[Ghana]], [[Togo]], [[Nigeria]], [[Niger]], [[Chad]], [[Cameroon]], [[Central African Republic]], [[Equatorial Guinea]], [[Gabon]], [[Congo]], [[Democratic Republic of Congo]], [[Angola]]<br />
+'''Eastern Africa''': [[Sudan]], [[Eritrea]], [[Ethiopia]], [[Djibouti]], [[Somalia]], [[Kenya]], [[Uganda]], [[Rwanda]], [[Burundi]], [[Tanzania]], [[Zanzibar]], [[Zambia]], [[Mozambique]], [[Malawi]]<br />
+'''Southern Africa''': [[Namibia]], [[Botswana]], [[Zimbabwe]], [[South Africa]], [[KwaZulu-Natal]], [[Lesotho]], [[eSwatini]]<br />
+'''African Islands''': [[Cape Verde]], Gulf of Guinea Islands, [[Sao Tome]], [[Principe]], [[Madagascar]]<br />
+'''Middle East''': [[Turkey]], [[Cyprus]], [[Syria]], [[Lebanon]], [[Israel]], [[Jordan]], [[Saudi Arabia]], [[Yemen]], [[Oman]], [[United Arab Emirates]], [[Qatar]], [[Bahrain]], [[Kuwait]], [[Iraq]], [[Iran]], [[Armenia]], [[Azerbaijan]], [[Georgia]]<br />
+'''Asia''':  [[Russia]], [[Siberia]], [[Kazakhstan]], [[Uzbekistan]], [[Turkmenistan]], [[Afghanistan]], [[Mongolia]], [[China]], [[Nepal]], [[Pakistan]], [[India]], Eastern and Western [[Himalayas]]<br />
+'''The [[Caribbean]]''': vagrant to [[Barbados]]<sup>[[#References|[3]]]</sup>.
 ==Taxonomy==
-There are four subspecies:
-Ixobrychus minutus minutus (Linnaeus, 1766). Europe, Asia, northern Africa; winters in sub-saharan Africa and southern Asia.
-Ixobrychus minutus payesii (Hartlaub, 1858). Sub-saharan Africa, resident.
-Ixobrychus minutus podiceps (Bonaparte, 1855). Madagascar, resident.
-Ixobrychus minutus dubius (Matthews, 1912). Australia, New Guinea, resident.
-The extinct New Zealand Little Bittern (Ixobrychus novaezelandiae) was formerly also treated as a subspecies of Little Bittern.
-The Little Bittern is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies.
+====Subspecies====
+There are 3 subspecies<sup>[[#References|[1]]]</sup>:
+*''I. m. minutus'':
+:*Central and southern [[Europe]] to [[Siberia]]; North [[Africa]]
+*''I. m. payesii'':
+:*[[Africa]] south of the Sahara
+*''I. m. podiceps'':
+:*[[Madagascar]]
+[[Black-backed Bittern]] was split from this species.
 ==Habitat==
+Reedbeds
 ==Behaviour==
-The Little Bittern's breeding habitat is reedbeds. It nests on platforms of reeds in shrubs, and 4-8 eggs are laid. It can be difficult to see, given its skulking lifestyle and reedbed habitat.
+====Breeding====
+It nests on platforms of reeds in shrubs, and 4-8 eggs are laid.
-These bitterns feed on insects, fish and amphibians.
+====Diet====
+Diet includes insects, fish and amphibians.
+====Vocalisation====
+{{ Audio|Ixobrychus minutus (song).mp3 }}
+==References==
+#{{Ref-Clements6thAug18}}#Avibase
+#[http://www.bioone.org/doi/pdf/10.1525/auk.2010.127.3.726 51st supplement to the AOU checklist of North American birds]
+{{ref}}.
+==External Links==
+{{GSearch|"Ixobrychus minutus" {{!}} "Little Bittern"}}
+<br />
+{{VSearch|"Ixobrychus minutus" {{!}} "Little Bittern"}}
+{{GS-checked}}1
+<br />
+<br />
-==Bird Song==
+[[Category:Birds]][[Category:Ixobrychus]][[Category:Bird Songs]] [[Category:Videos]]
-<flashmp3>Ixobrychus minutus (song).mp3</flashmp3><br />
-''[[Media:Ixobrychus minutus (song).mp3|Listen in an external program]]''
-==External Links==
-{{GSearch|Ixobrychus+minutus}}
-*[http://www.orientalbirdimages.org/birdimages.php?action=birdspecies&Bird_ID=1095&Bird_Image_ID=10297&Bird_Family_ID=116 View more images of this species on Orientalbirdimages]
-[[Category:Birds]]