Listen to the American bittern
Tip: press play to see the sound's live frequency spectrum in blue over the waveform.
About the American bittern
The American bittern is a bird in the family Ardeidae (order Pelecaniformes). Its conservation status on the IUCN Red List is “least concern”. Adults have a wingspan of about 120 cm and weigh around 36 g.
What does the American bittern sound like?
Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once. Songs tend to be long and patterned and are used to hold territory and attract a mate; calls are short signals for contact, alarm and flight.
The recordings here are labelled as song. Listen for differences in rhythm, pitch and repetition – the spectrum display makes it easy to see whether a sound is a pure whistle (a thin line), a harsh call (a broad band) or a trill (rapid repeated marks).
From Wikipedia
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.
Related birds in the genus Botaurus
More from the family Ardeidae
Grey heron
Ardea cinerea
Great egret
Ardea alba
Black-crowned night heron
Nycticorax nycticorax
Little egret
Egretta garzetta
Purple heron
Ardea purpurea
Little bittern
Botaurus minutus
Striated heron
Butorides striata
Indian pond heron
Ardeola grayii
Agami heron
Agamia agami
Black-headed heron
Ardea melanocephala
Frequently asked questions
What does an American bittern sound like?
You can hear 2 recordings of the American bittern on this page, including its song. Birds produce sound with the syrinx, a vocal organ deep in the chest that can make two independent sounds at once.
Is the American bittern endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the American bittern as “least concern”.
What family does the American bittern belong to?
The American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) belongs to the family Ardeidae in the order Pelecaniformes.
Sources & credits
- Song · Necedah Wildlife Refuge, United States by Justin Watts – CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Song · Sherburne NWR, Sherburne, Minnesota, United States by Justin Watts – CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
- Wikidata Q743017 – CC0
- Wikipedia: American bittern – CC BY-SA 4.0
- Photo by USFWS Midwest Region from Midwest Region, United States – Public domain