The cinnamon bittern or chestnut bittern is a small Old World bittern, breeding in tropical and subtropical Asia from India east to China and Indonesia. It is mainly resident, but some northern birds migrate short distances. This species was formerly placed in the genus Ixobrychus.
Region
South and Southeast Asia
Typical Environment
Occurs from the Indian Subcontinent through southern China and Taiwan to Indonesia and the Philippines. Prefers freshwater and brackish wetlands including marshes, reedbeds, rice fields, ponds, and slow-flowing canals. Often keeps to dense emergent vegetation and edges with overhanging cover. In disturbed landscapes it adapts well to man-made wetlands if cover and shallow foraging areas are available.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
A small, secretive bittern that often freezes with bill pointed upward, blending perfectly with reeds. Males are richer cinnamon overall, while females and juveniles show heavier streaking for camouflage. It frequently uses rice paddies and wetlands near human activity, where its stealthy hunting style makes it easy to overlook.
In Mangalajodi, Odisha
Cinnamon bittern, Van Vihar National Park, Bhopal, May 2017
Temperament
solitary and secretive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats, low and direct over vegetation
Social Behavior
Usually solitary or in loose pairs, keeping hidden in dense cover. Nests in reeds or tall grasses, sometimes in small colonies, building a platform of stems above water. Clutch typically several pale eggs; both parents share incubation and chick-rearing.
Migratory Pattern
Partial migrant
Song Description
Vocalizations include sharp tick and kek notes, with soft repeated clucks from cover. Displays harsher squawks when flushed or during territorial encounters.
Plumage
Male largely uniform cinnamon-chestnut above with paler buff underparts; female and juvenile more buff-brown with strong streaking on the neck and breast. Darker flight feathers contrast with warmer upperwings in flight. Feathers are compact and sleek, aiding stealth in dense reeds.
Diet
Takes small fish, tadpoles and frogs, aquatic insects, crustaceans, and occasionally small reptiles. Hunts by standing motionless at the water’s edge, then striking rapidly with its dagger-like bill. Will also stalk slowly along floating vegetation and shallow margins. Swallows prey whole and adjusts diet to seasonal availability.
Preferred Environment
Forages along vegetated margins of marshes, rice paddies, ponds, and irrigation canals. Prefers areas with dense reeds or grasses that provide cover and ambush points. Also uses mangrove edges and quiet backwaters.
