Species

Least bittern

Botaurus exilis

A tiny, secretive heron that clings to reed stems, often straddling two at once.

Photo Matt Felperin (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC BY 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

At a glance

Size: About 28 to 36 cm long
Weight: About 50 to 100 g
Habitat: Freshwater and brackish marshes with dense cattails and reeds
Diet: Small fish, insects, tadpoles and crayfish
In Georgia: A summer resident; a few winter in the south
Voice: A soft, cooing "coo-coo-coo"
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Tiny heron; dark cap and back; buff wing patches, obvious in flight; buff neck
Told apart from: Green heron, which is larger with no buff wing patches
Told apart from: American bittern, which is much larger and streaked
Where to look: Cattail marshes, clinging to stems over water

Behaviour

Least bitterns climb through reeds, grasping stems with their long toes, and hunt from just above the water. They freeze with bill pointing up when alarmed.

Why they matter

The smallest heron in North America, the least bittern lives in dense marshes that few people enter. It feeds on small fish and insects and shows how much life a healthy cattail marsh holds.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A platform of bent stems above water
Eggs — Usually four or five
Incubation — About 17 to 20 days
Chicks — Leave the nest at about two weeks, clambering in reeds
Lifespan — Several years

Living around people

Draining or mowing cattail marshes removes their habitat.

Misconceptions

Tiny herons are chicks. Least bitterns are adults at this size.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	A few in the far south	Few present	Arriving	Arriving	Nesting	Nesting	Chicks	Young flying	Leaving	Last birds	Few present	Few present

Where it lives

Recorded in 66 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

Mexico

If you found one

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