Pinnated Bittern (Botaurus pinnatus)

Pinnated Bittern (Botaurus pinnatus)
(aka South American Bittern)

Brazil

Like all bitterns, this bird is normally very difficult to see as it relies on its cryptic plumage and its ability to stand stock-still for long periods in order to avoid detection by predators or birders.

Its range is from southern Mexico to Paraguay and north east Argentina. The top two pictures were taken in Roraima and the final three were taken in Rio Grande do Sul.

It is found in freshwater swamps and marshes typically in flat open areas such as these savannahs in Roraima. Food consists of fish, frogs, snakes and insects.

There is an illustration in Ridgely & Greenfield, Plate 7; and HBW, Volume 1, Pages 385 and 424.

Pinnated Bittern, Cassino, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, August 2004 - click for larger image

It usually attempts to escape notice by freezing but this bird was flushed and flew a short distance - about 150 metres - before dropping down back into the marshy vegetation and out of sight.

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