Little Bittern
Ixobrychus minutus (Linnaeus, 1766)
LL
LITBI
980
Family: Pelecaniformes > Ardeidae
![Little Bittern, Philip Croft Little Bittern, Philip Croft](https://www.bto.org/sites/default/files/birdfacts/00032_Little%20Bittern_Philip%20Croft.jpg)
Despite the now annual handful of breeding attempts, the Little Bittern remains a rare visitor to our shores.
This is a very small member of the heron family, about the size of a pigeon. Both sexes have a white wing panel, the male with black upperparts, the female brown. Little Bitterns migrate to Britain & Ireland in spring with most recorded from April. They return to Africa in the autumn.
The Little Bittern is a secretive and crepuscular species, which, together with the preferred reedbed habitat, makes this a very difficult species to observe and survey.
Identification
Little Bittern identification is often straightforward.
SONGS AND CALLS
Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Little Bittern, provided by xeno-canto contributors.
Song
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Browse training coursesStatus and Trends
Population size and trends and patterns of distribution based on BTO surveys and atlases with data collected by BTO volunteers.
CONSERVATION STATUS
This species can be found on the following statutory and conservation listings and schedules.
POPULATION CHANGE
The status of the Little Bittern as a breeding species remains uncertain after a sequence of breeding records from 2009 to 2017 in Somerset were followed by a blank year in 2018, but a calling male was again present in 2019 (Eaton et al. 2021). The species is highly secretive and thus difficult to monitor
DISTRIBUTION
In addition to being rare migrants, Little Bitterns have recently bred in Somerset.
More from the Atlas Mapstore.
Occupied 10-km squares in UK
No. occupied in breeding season | 1 |
% occupied in breeding season | 0.03 |
European Distribution Map
DISTRIBUTION CHANGE
% change in range in winter (1981–84 to 2007–11) | --100% |
SEASONALITY
Little Bitterns are rare summer overshoot migrants and occasional breeders.
Movement
Information about movement and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.
RINGING RECOVERIES
View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report.
Biology
Lifecycle and body size information about Little Bittern, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.
PRODUCTIVITY & NESTING
Sample sizes are too small to report Productivity and Nesting statistics for this species.
BIOMETRICS
Sample sizes are too small to report Biometrics for this species.
Feather measurements and photos on featherbase
CODES & CLASSIFICATION
Field Codes ![]() |
2-letter: LL | 5-letter code: LITBI | Euring: 980 |
For information in another language (where available) click on a linked name
Research
Interpretation and scientific publications about Little Bittern from BTO scientists.
CAUSES AND SOLUTIONS
Causes of change
This species may be in the early stages of colonising the UK. The drivers of change are unclear and specualtive but climate change may have prompted range expansion and the creation of reedbed habitat within the UK for other species has ensured that suitable habitat is available.
Links to more information from ConservationEvidence.com
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