CreatureData

Australasian bittern

Botaurus poiciloptilus (Wagler, 1827)

VUVulnerablebirds

The australasian bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus) is a species in the family Ardeidae, order Pelecaniformes. Recorded adults weigh 867.7 g to 1.35 kg. Source checklists list it for 1 country: Australia. Its IUCN Red List status is Vulnerable.

Australasian bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus)
Photo: Imogen Warren · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Quick facts about the australasian bittern

Weight
867.7 g – 1.35 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Wingspan
1.05 m – 1.18 msrc for Wingspan
Lifespan
Not recorded
Diet
Omnivoresrc for Diet
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
25 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
4.2 – 4.75src for Young per litter or clutch
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Partialsrc for Migration
Conservation status
Vulnerable (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
1 countrysrc for Countries on record

How big is the australasian bittern?

AUSTRALASIAN BITTERN · WINGSPAN 1.18 MADULT HUMAN · HEIGHT 1.7 M
At 1.18 m, the recorded maximum wingspan of the australasian bittern is about 69% of the height of an adult human (1.7 m, a fixed reference used for scale).

Where does the australasian bittern live?

Countries where Catalogue of Life checklists list the species. Many checklists carry no country data, so the list is often incomplete. It is not a range map.

The australasian bittern is listed for 1 country.

Australia
  • Listed
  • Not listed
small islands are not drawn at this scale

The same countries as a list

  1. Australia

Listed by: ITIS (scope: global), through the Catalogue of Life.

What is the australasian bittern?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The Australasian bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus), or Matuku-hūrepo in Māori, is a stocky, sizeable and elusive heron-like bird native to the wetlands of Australia, New Zealand, and New Caledonia. It belongs to the bittern subfamily of the heron family Ardeidae. The Australasian bittern is best known for its cryptic plumage and behaviours, which allows it to blend into the rushes and reeds of its wetland habitats, making it particularly difficult to spot. Despite being rarely seen, Australasian bittern males have a distinct "booming" call that can carry long distances. This call is said to resemble that of a Bunyip, which is why the Australasian bittern is often known as "the Bunyip Bird" in parts of Australia.

Physically, the Australasian bittern stands around 66-76 cm tall with a wingspan of around a metre long. Its streaky, beige, mottled plumage allows it to camouflage itself among the reeds and rushes of its habitat to avoid predators and hunt for prey, undetected. The species primarily feeds on fish, amphibians, and invertebrates, which it hunts by quietly stalking through shallow waters or remaining "frozen" before ambushing its prey.

Historically, the Australasian bittern was described in the early 19th century and has since been of significant interest due to its cryptic nature. The species is classified as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, and continues to experience population declines resulting from habitat reduction and disturbance from wetland drainage, climate change and agricultural expansion. Conservation efforts are therefore becoming increasingly necessary for its survival.

Researchers continue to attempt to understand this birds' daily patterns, ecology, and breeding behaviour to improve current conservation strategies, although their cryptic nature makes this particularly difficult.

From the Wikipedia article “Australasian bittern” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Australasian_bittern&oldid=1374579323), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

What does the australasian bittern sound like?

Unknown author Unknown author · CC BY 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Is the australasian bittern endangered?

The australasian bittern is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List: it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Vulnerable species.

How is the australasian bittern classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPelecaniformes
  5. familyArdeidae
  6. genusBotaurus
  7. SpeciesBotaurus poiciloptilus (Wagler, 1827)

Synonyms Ardea poiciloptila, Botaurus melanotus, Botaurus poicilopterus maorianus, Botaurus poiciloptilus maorianus, Botaurus poiciloptilus mathewsi, Botaurus poiciloptilus westralensis

Other names and names in other languages (46)
  • Australian bitternEnglish
  • MatukuEnglish
  • واق أستراليArabic
  • Австралийски воден бикBulgarian
  • Bongorz AostraliaBreton
  • bitó australiàCatalan
  • bukač australskýCzech
  • aderyn bwn AwstraliaWelsh
  • Australsk RørdrumDanish
  • Braunbart-RohrdommelGerman
  • Australische RohrdommelGerman
  • Aŭstralia botaŭroEsperanto
  • aŭstralazia botaŭroEsperanto
  • Avetoro australianoSpanish
  • lõunahüüpEstonian
  • بوتیمار استرالزیاییPersian
  • australiankaulushaikaraFinnish
  • Butor d'AustralieFrench
  • Butor d'AustralasieFrench
  • Butor d’AustralieFrench
  • australski bukavacCroatian
  • ausztrál bölömbikaHungarian
  • Tarabuso australianoItalian
  • Tarabuso australasiaticoItalian
  • オーストラリアサンカノゴイJapanese
  • australinis baublysLithuanian
  • Matuku hūrepoMāori
  • Australische RoerdompDutch
  • AustralrøyrdrumNorwegian Nynorsk
  • australrørdrumNorwegian
  • bąk australijskiPolish
  • pupwiipme
  • بوٹارس پوئسیلوپٹیلسWestern Panjabi
  • Abetouro-da-OceaniaPortuguese
  • abetouro-australasiáticoPortuguese
  • abetouro-da-oceâniaPortuguese
  • Socó-boi-marromPortuguese
  • Австралийская выпьRussian
  • bučiak matukuSlovak
  • Australazijski vodeni bikSerbian
  • australisk rördromSwedish
  • Avustralya BalabanıTurkish
  • бугай австралійськийUkrainian
  • Vạc rạ Á ÚcVietnamese
  • 褐麻鳽Chinese
  • 褐麻鷺Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List

Relatives of the australasian bittern

Other species in the same genus Botaurus.

CompareAustralasian bittern vs Eurasian bitternAustralasian bittern vs Little bitternAustralasian bittern vs American bitternAustralasian bittern vs Pinnated bittern

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the australasian bittern?

An adult australasian bittern weighs 867.7 g – 1.35 kg and has a wingspan of 1.05 m – 1.18 m, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Where does the australasian bittern live?

Catalogue of Life checklists list the australasian bittern for 1 country: Australia. Checklist coverage is uneven, so the true range may be wider.

Is the australasian bittern endangered?

The australasian bittern is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List, meaning it faces a high risk of extinction in the wild.

What kind of animal is the australasian bittern?

The australasian bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus) belongs to the family Ardeidae in the order Pelecaniformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Australasian bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/australasian-bittern

MLA

“Australasian bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/australasian-bittern.

BibTeX
@misc{australasian_bittern_2026,
  title = {Australasian bittern (Botaurus poiciloptilus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/australasian-bittern},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}