Illustration © David Allen Sibley.
Learn more about these drawings.
Text © Kenn Kaufman, adapted from
Lives of North American Birds
Adult. Photo: Diane Taylor/Audubon Photography Awards
Botaurus lentiginosus
Conservation status | Has declined seriously in southern part of breeding range, mostly owing to loss of habitat. Still numerous as a breeder in parts of Canada. Vulnerable because of its reliance on large marshes. Acid rain may reduce food supplies in some areas. |
---|---|
Family | Herons, Egrets, Bitterns |
Habitat | Marshes, reedy lakes. Breeds in freshwater marshes, mainly large, shallow wetlands with much tall marsh vegetation (cattails, grasses, sedges) and areas of open shallow water. Winters in similar areas, also in brackish coastal marshes. Sometimes feeds in dry grassy fields. |
Forages mostly by standing still at edge of water, sometimes by walking slowly, capturing prey with sudden thrust of bill. May forage at any time of day or night, perhaps most actively at dawn and dusk.
3-5, sometimes 2-7. Pale brown to olive-buff. Incubation is by female only, 24-28 days. Young: Evidently only female cares for young, feeding them by regurgitation of partly-digested items. Young may leave nest after 1-2 weeks, but remain nearby and are fed up to age of 4 weeks. Age at first flight unknown, possibly 7-8 weeks.
Evidently only female cares for young, feeding them by regurgitation of partly-digested items. Young may leave nest after 1-2 weeks, but remain nearby and are fed up to age of 4 weeks. Age at first flight unknown, possibly 7-8 weeks.
Mostly fish and other aquatic life. Eats fish (including catfish, eels, killifish, perch), frogs, tadpoles, aquatic insects, crayfish, crabs, salamanders, garter snakes. Has been seen catching flying dragonflies. In drier habitats may eat rodents, especially voles.
Male defends nesting territory by advertising presence with "booming" calls. Courtship displays not well known; male may hold head low and fluff out white feathers on sides. One male may mate with two or three females. Nest: Site is usually in dense marsh growth above shallow water, sometimes on dry ground among dense grasses. Nest (apparently built by female alone) is a platform of grasses, reeds, cattails, lined with fine grasses.
Audubon’s scientists have used 140 million bird observations and sophisticated climate models to project how climate change will affect this bird’s range in the future.
Zoom in to see how this species’s current range will shift, expand, and contract under increased global temperatures.
Choose a temperature scenario below to see which threats will affect this species as warming increases. The same climate change-driven threats that put birds at risk will affect other wildlife and people, too.
A festive mix of birds and people
Argues the Rule Protects Drinking Water, Outdoor Economy, Birds and Other Wildlife
Two-thirds of North American bird species are at risk of extinction from climate change. Urge Congress to act now.
Let us send you the latest in bird and conservation news.
Visit your local Audubon center, join a chapter, or help save birds with your state program.