Bittern

Bitterns
	American bittern
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Pelecaniformes
Family:	Ardeidae
Subfamily:	Botaurinae; Reichenbach, 1850
Genera
	Ixobrychus Billberg, 1828; 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 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).[1]

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 similar storks, ibises, and spoonbills, which fly with necks outstretched.

Species

There are currently 14 species divided into three genera within Botaurinae:

Ixobrychus contains mainly smaller bitterns:

Little bittern (Ixobrychus minutus)
Australian little bittern (Ixobrychus dubius)
†New Zealand little bittern (Ixobrychus novaezelandiae)
Cinnamon bittern (Ixobrychus cinnamomeus)
Stripe-backed bittern (Ixobrychus involucris)
Least bittern (Ixobrychus exilis)
Yellow bittern (Ixobrychus sinensis)
Schrenck's bittern (Ixobrychus eurhythmus)
Dwarf bittern (Ixobrychus sturmii)
Black bittern (Ixobrychus flavicollis)

Botaurus contains the larger bitterns:

American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosa)
Eurasian bittern or great bittern (Botaurus stellaris)
South American bittern (Botaurus pinnatus)
Australasian bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus)
†Botaurus hibbardi (fossil)

Zebrilus includes only one species:

Zigzag heron or zigzag bittern (Zebrilus undulatus)

Notes

Joseph P. Pickett; et al., eds. (2000). "Bittern". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Archived from the original on 2005-01-16. Retrieved 2006-07-04.

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[1] Joseph P. Pickett; et al., eds. (2000). "Bittern". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. Archived from the original on 2005-01-16. Retrieved 2006-07-04.