# Bittern

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> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bittern
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{{short description|Subfamily of birds}}
{{Other uses}}
 
{{Automatic taxobox
| name = Bitterns
| image = American Bittern Seney NWR 3.jpg
| image_caption = [American bittern](/source/American_bittern)
| taxon = Botaurinae
| authority = [Reichenbach](/source/Heinrich_Gottlieb_Ludwig_Reichenbach), 1850
| subdivision_ranks = Genera
| subdivision = *''[Botaurus](/source/Botaurus)'' <small>[Stephens](/source/James_Francis_Stephens), 1819</small>
*''[Zebrilus](/source/Zebrilus)'' <small>Bonaparte, 1855</small>
}}

'''Bitterns''' are birds belonging to the subfamily '''Botaurinae''' of the heron family [Ardeidae](/source/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](/source/Old_English_language); the word "bittern" came to English from [Old French](/source/Old_French_language) ''butor'', itself from Gallo-Roman ''butitaurus'', a compound of [Latin](/source/Latin) ''būtiō'' (buzzard) and ''taurus'' (bull).<ref>{{cite encyclopedia | editor = Joseph P. Pickett | encyclopedia = The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language | title = Bittern | url = http://www.bartleby.com/61/77/B0287700.html | access-date = 2006-07-04 | edition = 4th | year = 2000 | publisher = Houghton Mifflin | location = Boston | display-editors = etal | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050116011921/http://www.bartleby.com/61/77/B0287700.html | archive-date = 2005-01-16 }}</ref>

Bitterns usually frequent [reed bed](/source/reed_bed)s and similar marshy areas and feed on [amphibian](/source/amphibian)s, [reptile](/source/reptile)s, [insect](/source/insect)s, and [fish](/source/fish).

Bitterns, like [herons](/source/Heron), [egrets](/source/Egret), and pelicans, fly with their necks retracted, unlike the [crane](/source/Crane_(bird))s, [stork](/source/stork)s, [ibis](/source/ibis)es, [spoonbill](/source/spoonbill)s, and [geese](/source/geese) which fly with necks extended and outstretched. The genus ''Ixobrychus'' was recently found to be [paraphyletic](/source/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:
{| class="wikitable"
|-
! Image !! Genus  !! Living species
|-
|175px || ''[Botaurus](/source/Botaurus)'' {{small|Stephens, 1819}}   || 
*[American bittern](/source/American_bittern) (''Botaurus lentiginosa)'' 
*[Eurasian bittern](/source/Eurasian_bittern) or great bittern (''Botaurus stellaris)''
*[South American bittern](/source/South_American_bittern) (''Botaurus pinnatus)''  
*[Australasian bittern](/source/Australasian_bittern) (''Botaurus poiciloptilus)''
*[Little bittern](/source/Little_bittern) (''Botaurus minutus)''
*[Australian little bittern](/source/Australian_little_bittern) (''Botaurus dubius)''
*†[New Zealand little bittern](/source/New_Zealand_little_bittern) (''Botaurus novaezelandiae)'' 
*[Cinnamon bittern](/source/Cinnamon_bittern) (''Botaurus cinnamomeus)''
*[Stripe-backed bittern](/source/Stripe-backed_bittern) (''Botaurus involucris)''
*[Least bittern](/source/Least_bittern) (''Botaurus exilis) '' 
*[Yellow bittern](/source/Yellow_bittern)'' (Botaurus sinensis)''
*[Schrenck's bittern](/source/Schrenck's_bittern) (''Botaurus eurhythmus) ''
*[Dwarf bittern](/source/Dwarf_bittern) (''Botaurus sturmii)''
*[Black bittern](/source/Black_bittern) (''Botaurus flavicollis)''
*†''[Botaurus hibbardi](/source/Botaurus_hibbardi)'' ([fossil](/source/fossil))
|-
|175px || ''[Zebrilus](/source/Zebrilus)'' {{small|Bonaparte, 1855}} || 
*[Zigzag heron](/source/Zigzag_heron) or zigzag bittern (''Zebrilus undulatus)''
|-
|}

==Notes==
<references/>

== External links ==
* {{Commons category-inline|Botaurinae}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q855133}}

Category:Bitterns
*
Category:Extant Miocene first appearances
Category:Taxa named by Ludwig Reichenbach

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Bittern](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bittern) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bittern?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.