The pinnated bittern, also known as the South American bittern, is a large member of the heron family (Ardeidae) found in the New World tropics. Like the other Botaurus bitterns, its plumage is mostly buffy-brown and cryptically patterned. Though it is a widespread species, it is rarely seen – presumably due to its skulking habits – and much about its life history remains little known.
Region
Neotropics
Typical Environment
Occurs from Central America through much of tropical South America, especially east of the Andes. It inhabits freshwater marshes, reedbeds, flooded grasslands (llanos and Pantanal), oxbow lake margins, and vegetated edges of slow-moving rivers. It also uses rice fields and other seasonally inundated agricultural wetlands. Dense emergent vegetation is essential for cover and nesting.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Tropical
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
The pinnated bittern, or South American bittern, is a large, secretive heron of tropical marshes and flooded savannas. It relies on superb camouflage, often freezing with bill pointed upward and swaying to mimic reeds. Despite its wide range, it is seldom seen, and aspects of its breeding biology remain poorly documented.
Temperament
solitary and secretive
Flight Pattern
low, direct flights with deep, steady wingbeats
Social Behavior
Usually solitary or in widely spaced pairs within large marshes. Nests are concealed platforms of reeds or sedges built over shallow water. Likely monogamous within a breeding season, with both sexes contributing to nest attendance.
Migratory Pattern
Resident
Song Description
Vocalizations include low, resonant booms and grunts, most often at dusk and dawn. Also gives harsh croaks when flushed, with long periods of silence the rest of the day.
Plumage
Cryptic buffy-brown with heavy dark streaking on the neck and breast and fine barring on the upperparts; plumage blends with reeds.
Diet
Feeds primarily on small fish, frogs, aquatic insects, and crustaceans, occasionally taking small snakes or other amphibious prey. It hunts by slow stalking along vegetated margins and by standing motionless before striking with a rapid jab. Its cryptic posture allows prey to approach closely.
Preferred Environment
Forages along the edges of dense emergent vegetation, shallow pools within marshes, and flooded savannas. It also uses man-made wetlands such as rice paddies and irrigation canals when cover is available.
