Botaurus lentiginosus
Silhouette: Sheatherius · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) is a species of wading bird in the heron family. It has a Nearctic distribution, breeding in Canada and the northern and central parts of the United States, and wintering in the U.S. Gulf Coast states, all of Florida into the Everglades, the Caribbean islands and parts of Central America.
It is a well-camouflaged, solitary brown bird that unobtrusively inhabits marshes and the coarse vegetation at the edge of lakes and ponds. In the breeding season it is chiefly noticeable by the loud, booming call of the male. The nest is built just above the water, usually among bulrushes and cattails, where the female incubates the clutch of olive-colored eggs for about four weeks. The young leave the nest after two weeks and are fully fledged at six or seven weeks.
The American bittern feeds mostly on fish but also eats other small vertebrates as well as crustaceans and insects. It is fairly common over its wide range, but its numbers are thought to be decreasing, especially in the south, because of habitat degradation. However the total population is large, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature has assessed its conservation status as being of "Least Concern". Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Riding Mountain National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Big Cypress National Preserve | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Everglades National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Voyageurs National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Isle Royale National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 6 | Point Pelee National Park | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 7 | Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 8 | Acadia National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 9 | Ría Lagartos Biosphere Reserve | 🇲🇽 Mexico | |
| 10 | Big Bend National Park | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 11 | Redwood National Park | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Vancouver | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 2 | Miami | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Seattle | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 4 | Chicago | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 5 | Montreal | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 6 | Washington | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 7 | Edmonton | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 8 | Mexico City | 🇲🇽 México | |
| 9 | New York City | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 10 | Los Angeles | 🇺🇸 United States |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | California Academy of Sciences | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 2 | Cameron Park Zoo | 🇺🇸 United States | |
| 3 | Montreal Biodome | 🇨🇦 Canada | |
| 4 | Wild Bird Fund | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report an American Bittern sighting in Chicago on a given day, based on 296 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 216th most-seen of the 314 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report an American Bittern in Chicago on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most American Bittern sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
Among the best
Of the 21 cities where we can rate American Bittern sightings, Chicago ranks 4th at under 5%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Vancouver (Canada, under 5%), Miami (United States, under 5%) and Seattle (United States, under 5%).
Same family: Ardeidae
The closest relatives of the American Bittern that you can see in Chicago (family Ardeidae, Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns) are Great Blue Heron (about 20%), Black-crowned Night Heron (about 10%) and Green Heron (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the American Bittern is recorded against all the birds logged in Chicago (296 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
