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The big bittern is a bird of the order of the stork-like, family of herons. This original name of this species of birds was due to its loud voice, which sounds like loud cries and howls.
Description of the species
This species of marsh birds differs from other species by its rather large size and peculiar body shape. Another feature of the bittern is its unique coloring of plumage, which has significant differences from many related species, which makes it recognizable.
Appearance
The color of the plumage of the tail part of the bird is a yellowish-brown shade with a pronounced dark color pattern. Note that this color of this swamp bird is, in fact, a camouflage outfit, which allows this rather large in size bird to remain almost imperceptible in the marshland, vegetation thickets.
The male is larger than the female. The weight of an individual reaches 2 kilograms with a bird height of 65-70 cm. The beak of a bittern is light yellow with many incrustations of dark color, the eyes are yellow.
The color of the legs of the bird is dark gray, with a pale green tint, which is a characteristic difference of this species. Young individuals bittern differ from adults in lighter and softer colors of plumage. In the air during the flight they are often confused with such a night predator like an owl.
Habitat, lifestyle and behavior
Although drinking is a bird, it mainly chooses swamps for its place of residence, nevertheless it belongs to migratory species. As a rule, the bird returns to the nesting place after wintering in early spring.The natural habitat for it is large natural reservoirs with a small current and with abundant vegetation (reeds, reeds).
Mass departure to the wintering place begins with the arrival of cold weather (late September - early October). This species of bird sheds once a year, from late summer to early January.
Shows the most activity in the evening and at night. While hunting for its prey, it is able to stand motionless for quite a long period of time. During the day the bittern hides in bushes and thickets, resting, she does it, like many of her relatives of the heron family, - standing on one leg. When meeting with his enemy, the swamp bittern opens its beak widely, while belching all the food eaten before it.
The cry of a bitter is most often heard with the onset of the warm season, in the spring and summer, the bird usually publishes its characteristic cries at night or in the early morning. Especially often heard the cries of this bird with the beginning of the mating season. Sounds are emitted through the esophagus, which, due to bloating, acts as a very resonator, because of which birds “scream” repeatedly amplify and can be heard several kilometers from the place where it nests.
Interesting fact! When a danger arises, the swamp bittern quickly regroup, pulling the neck, then freezes sharply, which is a very effective disguise, as it makes the bird very similar to ordinary cane.
The life expectancy of this species of wading birds in an optimal habitat is about 13-15 years.
This kind of marsh birds can be found in European countries, in the Mediterranean. Some populations of poppy have chosen southern Sweden, Denmark, Finland as their homeland. Wintering places: Africa, India, China.
Natural enemies
The greatest harm to the population of this swamp bird is the destruction of the natural conditions for their nesting, that is, its natural habitat. This is due to the draining of large areas, which, in fact, is the reason for the reduction in the number of species.
Also, not less harm for this species of birds is often caused by the abnormal heat fell vegetation. Often, this causes the death of most plants, suitable for both poultry and nesting.
To the natural enemies of the marsh bog can be attributed to birds of prey, which destroy the young.
Power Features
The basic ration of a big sip is mostly river fish. Tryons, frogs, insects and rodents are also often caught. In the event that the bird does not have enough food, it can get it by destroying bird nests.
Breeding species
A marsh bird's nest has a peculiar shape (rounded, with sides) and, as a rule, is built in thickets of dense vegetation of a reservoir. As the chicks grow, the family nest begins to sink into the soft, saturated with moisture soil or into the water, because of which a pair of birds permanently builds it up.
Eggs are a grayish-clay color and a rather regular shape. Basically, the eggs are made by the female, but if necessary, the male can replace the latter. The number of eggs of one clutch reaches 8 pieces.Each hatches at a time interval of several days; for this reason, the chicks hatch asynchronously. As a rule, the youngest chick in the clutch is killed. Feeding the chicks to their parents continues for one and a half to two months after their appearance. The ability to fly in chicks chicks appears from two months of age.
Video: Big Bittern (Botaurus stellaris)
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