American Bittern, Striking Concealer

This bird packs some pizzazz, ya’ll, but he’s hard to spot with perfected camouflage. Think: striking concealment. The American Bittern is a streaky, buff-brown heron that hangs out in the reeds with patience and stealth. His concealment pose is neck stretched, bill pointed skyward, eyes looking forward-down (he can look cross-eyed at the right angle!). He may even sway with the reeds to blend in. Like all herons, he’s a patient stalker, able to stand motionless in vegetation to catch his prey. 

It gets weirder: their clacking, gulping calls have nicknamed this bird “water-belcher,” thunder-pumper,” and “stake-driver,” sounding like a giant water pump. This is why they’re more often heard than seen (“so that’s what I’ve been hearing all this time?!”). They use their whole body, especially their neck, to create this call. 

American Bitterns don’t migrate far, breeding in the upper half of the U.S. into Canada, and moving to the Southernmost U.S. and Mexico for winter. Diet includes amphibians, fish, insects, crustaceans, reptiles, and small mammals. They may warm up their neck muscles with a few sways, then stand motionless, shifting their beaks in the direction of their prey imperceptibly until they strike with speed. It bites or shakes the prey, then swallows it whole, regurgitating indigestible parts as pellets, much like owls.

They breed in freshwater marshes with tall vegetation, nests built in thick stands of bulrush or cattails. The female does it all: chooses the site, builds the nest, incubates, and feeds chicks. A clutch is typically 2-7 eggs. She may build a nest near a ‘booming’ male to distract predators. 

American Bitterns are reclusive and difficult to survey for population estimates. Their life cycle is dependent on wetland habitat. Over half the original wetlands in the lower 48 states have already been destroyed, and inland freshwater wetlands—the American Bittern’s most important nesting and wintering grounds—are among the most threatened.

Original mixed media on raw stretched canvas with maple float frame. Alternative hardwood frames available upon request.

Sources: All About Birds and Audubon Society