BTO BirdFacts | Bittern

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Page updated:16-January-2013

	Order: Ciconiiformes	Family: Ardeidae
	BTO Codes: BI, BITTE	EURING No: 950
	Number in Britain: 72 males (Summer)
	Conservation Status:
	UK: RED
	European: 3 Concern, most not in Europe; Depleted
	Global: (Details)
Links to: Images Videos Sound

Status in UK: (A) Resident Breeder, Winter Visitor
Subspecies: stellaris recorded in Britain (of 2 subsp. in the world)
.
Length: 75 cm	Wingspan: 130 cm	Weight: M: 1.5 kg F: 1 kg

Scientific name from:	ME: botor=bittern (from L.: bos=oxen + taurus=bull) and L.: stellaris=starry
World Distribution:	BREEDS: Europe, Africa, n&c Asia, WINTERS: also south to s Asia, Philippines

Habitat:	Reedbed & marshes
Diet:	Mostly fish, amphibians, insects but wide variety, mostly in shallow water in or near cover
TitBit:	Famous for its booming call, which can carry a kilometre or more, each bird sounds slightly different, allowing scientists to individually identify male birds.

	Population Trend:	No population trend available
	Distribution:	No distribution maps available

British Population Size:

Summer: 72 males in 2005-09 Holling, M. & RBBP (2011) British Birds 104:476-537

Winter: 600 individuals in 2010/11 Musgrove, A. et al. (2011) British Birds 104:364-397

First Record: Recorded in Anglo-Saxon times Bircham, P. 2007. A history of ornithology, Collins. [805 BIR]

[Fossil evidence from early Holocene, up to 10,000 yr ago]

First Breeding Record: Norfolk (after extinct 1868) 1911 Brown, A. 2007. British Birds 100:214-243

Latest Survey: Holling, M. & RBBP (2011) British Birds 104:476-537

Conservation Status: RED because Historical Population Decline, Eaton, M.A. et al. 2009. British Birds 102:296-341

Previous Assessments: 2002-2007 RED Gregory, R.D. et al. 2002. British Birds 95:410-448

1996-2001 RED Gibbons, D.W. et al. 1996. RSPB Conservation Review 10:7-18

Races of Concern: stellaris RED (Historical Decline)

Habitat Occupancy (in the Breeding Season):

No habitat data from BBS

European Population Size:

Summer: 21 to 29 thousand pairs Bufield, I. & Van Bommel, F. (2004) Birds in Europe. Birdlife International, Cambridge.

Population Assesment from Birds in Europe

Distribution in Europe mapped by the EBCC Atlas

Listed on the Appendices/Schedules of: WCA(I), WBD(I), Bern(III), Bonn(II), AEWA

Survey Results:

Breeding and Survival
Egg Size: 53 x 39 mm	Egg Weight: 42.0 g (of which 6 % is shell)

Number of Nest Records: 2
Clutch Size: 4 - 6 eggs
Incubation: 25- 26 days		by the: Female
Fledging: 50 - 55days		as: Altricial, downy

First Clutches Laid: Unavailable
Number of Broods: 1

Number Ringed: Annual Totals
Adult Survival: 0.700 ± 0.050
Juvenile Survival: No data

Age at First Breeding:	Typical Lifespan: No data
Maximum Recorded Age: 10 years 7 months 7 days (set in 2010)
Read a summary of Ringing Recoveries

Other Names
Eurasian/Great Bittern


Gaelic: Corra-ghràin	Welsh: Aderyn y Bwn
Danish: Rørdrum	Dutch: Roerdomp
Finnish: Kaulushaikara	French: Butor étoilé
German: Rohrdrommel	Hungarian: Bölömbika
Icelandic: Sefþvari	Irish: Bonnán
Italian: Tarabuso	Norwegian: Rørdrum
Polish: Bak zwyczajny	Portuguese: Abetouro-comum
Spanish: Avetoro	Swedish: Rördrom

Local Names:Miredrum, Butterbump
Collective Noun:Sedge (or Siege)

For More Information...
Books and Monographs:
Voisin, C. 1991 The herons of Europe Poyser, London [598.461 VOI]
Kushlan, J.A. & Hancock, J. 2005 The Herons Oxford University Press [598.461 KUS]
Brown, A. et al. 2011 Bitterns and bittern conservation in the UK British Birds 105:58-87

See Also:
Find scientific papers on Google Scholar or Scirus by clicking the icon
Wikipedia entry
BirdLife species page
Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides
All About Birds (from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology)
Read State of the Nations Birds by Chris Mead

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