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| Home > BirdFacts > herons > Little Bittern | |
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| Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus [Linnaeus, 1766] | |
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Other Names
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Records
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Books & Links
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Order:
Ciconiiformes
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Family: Ardeidae |
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BTO Codes:
LL , LITBI
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EURING No: 980 | |
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Number in Britain:
4 records/year
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Conservation Status:
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View video clips from
IBC
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Status in UK:
(A) Scarce Visitor, Has Bred
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Subspecies:
minutus recorded in Britain (of 4 subsp. in the world)
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Length:
36 cm
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Wingspan: 55 cm |
Weight:
M/F: 150 g
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Scientific name from:
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Gr.: ixos=mistletoe + brukhao=to roar and L.: minutus=small |
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World Distribution:
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BREEDS: c Europe east to w China & south to nw Africa, local in Africa: WINTERS: s Europe east to India & Africa |
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Habitat:
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Reedbed & swamp |
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Diet:
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Mostly fish, amphibians, insects from cover at water's edge, mostly at dusk/dawn |
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TitBit:
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The Little Bittern visits Britain regularly, and has long been suspected of breeding here, first at South Walsham Broad in Norfolk in the nineteenth century, however, a breeding attempt was not confirmed until 1984, when three young were raised at a site i n South Yorkshire |
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| Records and Distribution | |
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First Record:
1666
(Merrett, C. 1666. Pinax rerum naturalium Brittannicarum)
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Total Number of Records (1958-2004):
197
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Summary of Records by Year
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Most Likely to Occur in:
April to June (some through October)
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Most Recent County Records:
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Scotland:
Angus & Dundee
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Ayrshire
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Borders
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Clyde
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Dumfries & Galloway
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Fife
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Highland
(1995),
Lothian
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Northeast
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Outer Hebrides
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Orkney
,
Shetland
(1997),
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North-east England:
Cleveland
,
Durham
,
Northumberland
(2000),
East Yorkshire
(1977),
North Yorkshire
(1842),
South Yorkshire
(1985),
West Yorkshire
(1957),
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North-west England:
Cheshire
,
Cumbria
(1976),
Lancashire
(1997),
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English Midlands:
Derbyshire
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Leicestershire
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Northamptonshire
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Nottinghamshire
,
Shropshire
,
Staffordshire
(1901),
Warwickshire
(1981),
West Midlands
(1836),
Worcestershire
(1865),
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Eastern England:
Bedfordshire
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Cambridgeshire
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Essex
(1970),
Hertfordshire
(1997),
Lincolnshire
(2004),
Norfolk
(1997),
Suffolk
(1980),
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South-east England:
Berkshire
(1972),
Buckinghamshire
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Hampshire
(2003),
Isle of Wight
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Kent
(2003),
Greater London
(1995),
Oxfordshire
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Surrey
(1996),
East Sussex
(2000),
West Sussex
(1987),
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South-west England:
Cornwall
(2003),
Devon
(2002),
Dorset
(1993),
Gloucestershire
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Somerset
(1997),
Wiltshire
(1940),
Isles of Scilly
(2003),
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Wales:
Anglesey
(1882),
Carmarthen
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Ceredigion
(1995),
Glamorgan
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Gwent
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Pembrokeshire
,
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| Other Names | |
| Gaelic: Corra-ghràin-bheag | Welsh: Aderyn-bwn Leiaf |
| Danish: Dværghejre | Dutch: Woudaapje |
| Finnish: Pikkuhaikara | French: Blongios nain |
| German: Zwergdrommel | Hungarian: Pocgém |
| Icelandic: Rindilþvari | Irish: Bonnán Beag |
| Italian: Tarabusino | Norwegian: Dvergrørdrum |
| Polish: Baczek zwyczajny | Portuguese: Garça-pequena |
| Spanish: Avetorillo | Swedish: Dvärgrördrom |
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| For More Information... |
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Books and Monographs:
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| 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] |
| Kushlan, J.A. & Hancock, J. 2005 The Herons Oxford University Press [598.461 KUS] |
| See Also: |
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Wikipedia entry
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Recent sightings and information from BirdGuides.com
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Find papers on Google Scholar
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Find papers on Scirus
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| These data should be cited as: | © British Trust for Ornithology, |
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