Eurasian Bittern

The Eurasian or great bittern is a thickset heron, 69–81 cm long with a wingspan of 100–130 cm and a mass of 0.87–1.94 kg. It has bright, pale, buffy-brown plumage covered in dark streaks and bars, with the sides of the head and neck a more uniform tawny buff, irregularly barred with black. Its presence is most apparent in spring, when the male's booming call can be heard. Given its narrow habitat needs and the general loss of wetlands, the population is thought to be declining worldwide (Wikipedia, general species account).

The northern race breeds in parts of Europe and across the Palearctic and on the north coast of Africa, while a southern race is endemic to parts of southern Africa. More northerly populations usually migrate to warmer regions, and northern Asian birds go to parts of the Arabian Peninsula, the Indian subcontinent and eastern China. The female incubates the eggs and feeds the chicks, which leave the nest at about two weeks. Some vegetable matter such as aquatic plants is also eaten. SoIB 2023 lists it as a winter migrant of wetland that eats vertebrates, without a priority category (Wikipedia, general species account; SoIB 2023).