American Bittern

Botaurus lentiginosus

Standing-still champion of the cattails. Booms a low "pump-er-lunk" through marshes nobody else hears.

Population: ~1.5-2.5 million mature individuals (roughly 3 million total), precautionarily estimated to be declining at 10-19% over three generations
Habitat: Freshwater marshes, bogs, and thickly-vegetated margins of shallow lakes and ponds, especially stands of cattails and reeds; occasionally wet meadows and pastures; rarely brackish/coastal tidal marshes
Fun fact: When alarmed, an American Bittern freezes with its bill pointed straight up and its streaked throat feathers puffed forward, mimicking the surrounding marsh reeds so effectively that it can sway with the wind to complete the disguise.
Range: Breeds across southern Canada and the northern/central United States; winters along the U.S. Gulf Coast, Florida (including the Everglades), Caribbean islands (incl. Bahamas, Bermuda, Cuba), Mexico, and Central America (Guatemala, Costa Rica); a rare vagrant to Western Europe and Saint Pierre and Miquelon
Diet: Mainly fish, plus amphibians (especially frogs), reptiles (including water snakes), small mammals, crustaceans, and insects such as water bugs, water beetles, and dragonflies
Size: 0.72 m
Wingspan: 0.92 m
Lifespan: 8 years

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