Bittern
Subfamily of birds
title: "Bittern" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["bitterns", "ardeidae", "extant-miocene-first-appearances", "taxa-named-by-ludwig-reichenbach"] description: "Subfamily of birds" topic_path: "general/bitterns" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bittern" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0
::summary Subfamily of birds ::
| name = Bitterns | image = American Bittern Seney NWR 3.jpg | image_caption = American bittern | taxon = Botaurinae | authority = Reichenbach, 1850 | subdivision_ranks = Genera | subdivision = *Botaurus Stephens, 1819
- Zebrilus Bonaparte, 1855
Bitterns are birds belonging to the subfamily Botaurinae of the heron family Ardeidae. Bitterns tend to be shorter-necked and more secretive than other members of the family. They were called hæferblæte and various iterations of raredumla in Old English; the word "bittern" came to English from Old French butor, itself from Gallo-Roman butitaurus, a compound of Latin būtiō (buzzard) and taurus (bull).
Bitterns usually frequent reed beds and similar marshy areas and feed on amphibians, reptiles, insects, and fish.
Bitterns, like herons, egrets, and pelicans, fly with their necks retracted, unlike the cranes, storks, ibises, spoonbills, and geese which fly with necks extended and outstretched. The genus Ixobrychus was recently found to be paraphyletic with the Botaurus genus, and Ixobrychus was then merged into Botaurus.
Species
There are currently 14 extant species divided into two genera within Botaurinae: ::data[format=table]
| Image | Genus | Living species |
|---|---|---|
| [[File:Eurasian Bittern - Torrile - Italy 4528 (15409347121).jpg | 175px]] | Botaurus Stephens, 1819 |
| [[File:Zigzag Heron.jpg | 175px]] | Zebrilus Bonaparte, 1855 |
| :: |
Notes
References
- (2000). "Bittern". Houghton Mifflin.
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