Black Bittern
Botaurus flavicollis
A secretive heron of reed beds, mangroves, wooded streams, and swampy margins across South and Southeast Asia to Australia. It hunts alone by standing motionless or stalking slowly before stabbing fish, frogs, crustaceans, and insects with its sharp bill. Dark plumage and a habit of freezing upright make it very difficult to spot in shaded wetland vegetation. Though capable of flight, its signature tactic is a sudden ambush from cover at the water’s edge.
- Type
- Stealth / Water
- Conservation status
- LC
Growth chain
- ?
- ?
- Black Bittern