A sooty black or dark brown bittern with a yellow patch on the sides of the neck, extending from the throat to the wing. The feathers on the crown and lower neck are almost plumes. The legs are dark.
Not Threatened.
The Black Bittern is a sooty black or dark brown bittern with a yellow patch on the sides of the neck, extending from the throat to the wing. The feathers on the crown and lower neck are almost plumes. The legs are dark.
54-66 cm, 400 g
Taxonomy:
- Ardea flavicollis Latham, 1790, India. Often separated in monospecific genus Dupetor. Three subspecies recognized. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Subspecies and Distribution:
- *flavicollis (Latham, 1790) - SE Asia from Pakistan to SE China and S to Indonesia and Philippines. *australis (Lesson, 1831) - Moluccas, New Guinea and Bismarck Archipelago S to W, N & E Australia. *woodfordi (Ogilvie Grant, 1888) - Solomon Is.
Roost and nest in trees, and are found in tree-lined wetlands and in mangroves. They forage in both daylight and darkness, mainly from shady trees over water, but may be seen during the day in open areas of short marshy vegetation and along creeks in shrubby vegetation.
Black Bitterns feed on a wide range of small animals, but mainly fish and amphibians. They stalk prey slowly or stand and wait for prey to emerge, but may sometimes plunge at it from a perch, before stabbing it with their sharp bills.
Breeding season: September to April Clutch size: Up to five, usually three. Black Bitterns nest in trees over water. The nest is a loose platform with a shallow depression in the centre.