Little bittern
Botaurus minutus (Linnaeus, 1766)
The little bittern (Botaurus minutus), also called the Common little bittern, is a small bird of the heron family Ardeidae in the order Pelecaniformes. It weighs 147 g, with reported values from 99.49 g to 149 g, and has a wingspan of 49 cm, with reported values from 40 cm to 58 cm.
Quick facts about the little bittern
A migratory, carnivorous aquatic predator of wetland habitats, it forages terrestrially and has a geographic range of 27,680,000 km². It lays one clutch of 7 eggs per year, incubates them for 18 days, reaches sexual maturity at 1.7 years and is listed as Least Concern by the IUCN.
- Weight
- 99.5 g – 149 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Wingspan
- 40 cm – 58 cmsrc for Wingspan
- Lifespan
- 6 years – 6.92 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 18 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 4.6 – 7src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 18 months – 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the little bittern?
Photos of the little bittern
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the little bittern live?
Not recorded
What is the little bittern?
The little bittern (Botaurus minutus) is a wading bird in the heron family, Ardeidae. This species was formerly placed in the genus Ixobrychus.
From the Wikipedia article “Little bittern” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Little_bittern&oldid=1328088410), 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 little bittern sound like?
Is the little bittern endangered?
The little bittern is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). See all Least Concern species.
How is the little bittern classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPelecaniformes
- familyArdeidae
- genusBotaurus
- SpeciesBotaurus minutus (Linnaeus, 1766)
Synonyms Ardea minuta, Ardetta minuta, Ixobrychus minutus
Other names and names in other languages (44)
- Common little bitternEnglish
- Woudapie (Kleinrietreier)Afrikaans
- واقة صغيرةArabic
- Чапля-лазянiкBelarusian
- Малък воден бикBulgarian
- martinet menut comúCatalan
- bukáček malýCzech
- DværghejreDanish
- ZwergdommelGerman
- ΜικροτσικνιάςGreek
- nana botaŭroEsperanto
- Avetorillo comúnSpanish
- väikehüüpEstonian
- بوتیمار کوچکPersian
- pikkuhaikaraFinnish
- VætturhegriFaroese
- Blongios nainFrench
- Butor blongiosFrench
- אנפית גמדיתHebrew
- čapljica voljakCroatian
- törpegémHungarian
- RindilþvariIcelandic
- Rindil?variIcelandic
- TarabusinoItalian
- ヒメヨシゴイJapanese
- mažasis baublysLithuanian
- mazais dumpisLatvian
- мал воден бикMacedonian
- ചിന്നക്കൊച്ചMalayalam
- WoudaapDutch
- dvergrøyrdrumNorwegian Nynorsk
- dvergrørdrumNorwegian
- bączek (zwyczajny)Polish
- garçote-comumPortuguese
- Stârc piticRomanian
- ВолчокRussian
- UhcaháigirNorthern Sami
- bučiačik močiarnySlovak
- ČapljicaSerbian
- dvärgrördromSwedish
- Küçük BalabanTurkish
- бугайчик звичайнийUkrainian
- 小苇鳽Chinese
- 小葦鳽Chinese
Relatives of the little bittern
Other species in the same genus Botaurus.
Eurasian bittern
Botaurus stellaris
American bittern
Botaurus lentiginosus
Matuku
Botaurus poiciloptilus
Pinnated bittern
Botaurus pinnatus
Stripe-backed bittern
Botaurus involucris
Cinnamon bittern
Botaurus cinnamomeus
CompareLittle bittern vs Eurasian bitternLittle bittern vs American bitternLittle bittern vs MatukuLittle bittern vs Pinnated bittern
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the little bittern?
The little bittern is a bird of the family Ardeidae in the order Pelecaniformes. It falls in the small size class.
How big is the little bittern?
The little bittern weighs 147 g and has a wingspan of 49 cm. Reported weights range from 99.49 g to 149 g and wingspans from 40 cm to 58 cm.
What does the little bittern eat?
The little bittern is a carnivore in the aquatic predator diet category.
What habitat does the little bittern live in?
The little bittern lives in wetland habitat. It is migratory and has a geographic range of 27,680,000 km².
Is the little bittern endangered?
No. The little bittern is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not a threatened category.
How long does the little bittern live?
The little bittern has a lifespan of 6 years, with values up to 6.9 years reported.
How many eggs does the little bittern lay?
The little bittern lays 7 eggs per clutch and one clutch per year. The eggs are incubated for 18 days.
Who named the little bittern?
The little bittern, Botaurus minutus, was named by (Linnaeus, 1766).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Little bittern (Botaurus minutus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-bittern
“Little bittern (Botaurus minutus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-bittern.
@misc{little_bittern_2026,
title = {Little bittern (Botaurus minutus)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/little-bittern},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}