Von Schrenck's bittern or Schrenck's bittern is a small bittern named after Leopold von Schrenck, the 19th-century Russian zoologist. It breeds in southeast Siberia, east China, the Korean Peninsula and Japan. It winters from the Malay Peninsula to the Greater Sunda Islands, Sulawesi and the Philippines. This species was formerly placed in the genus Ixobrychus.
Region
East Asia and Southeast Asia
Typical Environment
Breeds in southeast Siberia, northeast China, the Korean Peninsula, and Japan, favoring freshwater marshes with dense reeds and sedges. In the non‑breeding season it disperses to the Malay Peninsula, the Greater Sunda Islands, Sulawesi, and the Philippines. It uses reedbeds, overgrown ponds, rice paddies, and swampy ditches, often staying close to dense emergent vegetation. During migration and winter it readily occupies man‑made wetlands and flooded fields.
Altitude Range
Sea level to 1500 m
Climate Zone
Other
Ease of Keeping
Beginner friendly: 1/5
Named after the Russian zoologist Leopold von Schrenck, this small, elusive bittern breeds in northeast Asia and winters across tropical Southeast Asia. Males show a distinctive pale buff wing panel that is often the best field mark in flight. Like other bitterns, it relies on superb camouflage and a freeze posture among reeds to avoid detection.
Foraging Von Schrenck's bittern in Central Catchment, Singapore
Temperament
secretive and elusive
Flight Pattern
short rapid wingbeats, low over vegetation
Social Behavior
Typically solitary or in dispersed pairs during breeding, nesting low in dense reeds or other emergent vegetation. Nests are simple platforms of stems over shallow water. Outside the breeding season it can occur loosely with other small herons in suitable wetlands but remains cryptic and skulking.
Migratory Pattern
Seasonal migrant
Song Description
Vocalizations are soft and subdued, including clucks and ticking notes given at dusk and dawn. Males may produce series of low, repeated calls from concealed perches within reedbeds.
Plumage
Male shows warm rufous head and neck with darker brown upperparts and a conspicuous pale buff wing panel; female is browner and heavily streaked, offering strong camouflage in reeds. Both sexes have fine, dense feathering suited to wetland cover and a sleek profile when neck is extended.
Diet
Feeds on small fish, aquatic insects and their larvae, crustaceans, amphibians, and occasionally small reptiles. It hunts by standing motionless or making slow, deliberate stalks along reed edges. Quick thrusts of the sharp bill secure prey at or just below the water surface.
Preferred Environment
Forages in shallow freshwater marshes, vegetated pond margins, rice paddies, and slow ditches with dense cover. It favors spots with overhanging reeds or sedges that provide concealment while hunting.
