Bird

American Bittern

Botaurus lentiginosus

A winter visitor to Louisiana, found in all 64 parishes and 7 habitats.

Here: Winter and on migration
Nesting: Not known to nest here
Range: All 64 parishes
Habitats: 7

Adult American Bittern, whole bird — **Adult**. (c) Kathy Richardson, some rights reserved (CC BY). CC BY. iNaturalist photo 483295286. iNaturalist large derivative; no local crop or retouch.

At a glance

Group: Birds
Here: Winter and on migration
Nesting: Not known to nest here
Range: All 64 parishes
Habitats: 7
Habitat models: Summer, Winter

Where it lives

The places its habitat model includes. It is not found everywhere a habitat occurs.

Habitats in Louisiana 7

Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

1 of 7

Coastal dunes and beaches

Open sand of beaches, dunes and the hollows between them.

SummerWinterUnconsolidated Shore (Beach/Dune); Atlantic and Gulf Coastal Plain Interdunal Wetland

Coastal tidal marshes (salinity not stated)

Tidal marshes of the Atlantic and Gulf coasts where the source does not say whether the water is fresh, brackish or salt. A stated salinity files the marsh under freshwater tidal marshes or salt and brackish marshes instead.

Winter

Disturbed and introduced wetlands

Wet ground taken over by weedy or introduced plants after disturbance, such as common reed, Chinese tallow or tamarisk stands; the upland counterpart is roadsides, fields and disturbed ground.

SummerWinter

Ponds, lakes and their shores

Still water and its edges: ponds, lakes, millponds and reservoirs.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Fresh)

Sounds, bays and tidal flats

Salt and brackish open water of sounds, bays and estuaries, with the mud and sand flats and seagrass beds that tides cover and uncover; the vegetated marsh is salt and brackish marshes.

SummerWinterOpen Water (Brackish/Salt)

Prairies and grasslands

Open, grass-dominated places kept open by fire, grazing or thin soil, from tallgrass prairie to Piedmont prairies.

WinterOnly within 500 m of water.West Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Calcareous Prairie; Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie

Roadsides, fields and disturbed ground

Ground opened by people: roadsides, old fields, pastures, fencerows and lots.

WinterOnly within 500 m of water.Pasture/Hay; Disturbed/Successional - Grass/Forb Regeneration; Utility Swath - Herbaceous; Ruderal Upland - Old Field

Other habitats in its models (49)

Land cover, or classes with no habitat page in Louisiana. Those recorded in Louisiana first, the rest by region.

Elsewhere in the South (23)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Central Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Freshwater Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Embayed Region Tidal Salt and Brackish Marsh Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Indian River Lagoon Tidal Marsh Winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Large Natural Lakeshore Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Southern Dune and Maritime Grassland Winter.
Central and Upper Texas Coast Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
Central Florida Herbaceous Pondshore Winter.
Central Florida Herbaceous Seep Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Savanna and Wet Prairie Winter.
Florida Big Bend Fresh-Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Winter.
Florida Big Bend Salt-Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
Floridian Highlands Freshwater Marsh Winter.
Mississippi Sound Salt and Brackish Tidal Marsh Winter.
South Florida Everglades Sawgrass Marsh Winter.
South Florida Freshwater Slough and Gator Hole Winter.
South Florida Wet Marl Prairie Winter.
Southwest Florida Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
Texas Saline Coastal Prairie Winter.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Nepheline Syenite Glade Winter, only within 500 m of water.
West Gulf Coastal Plain Northern Calcareous Prairie Winter, only within 500 m of water.

Northeast (4)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Fresh and Oligohaline Tidal Marsh Summer and winter.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Northern Tidal Salt Marsh Winter.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Dune and Swale Winter.
Northern Atlantic Coastal Plain Heathland and Grassland Winter, only within 500 m of water.

Land cover and other classes (22)

Atlantic Coastal Plain Clay-Based Carolina Bay Herbaceous Wetland Summer.
Atlantic Coastal Plain Depression Pondshore Summer and winter.
Central Interior and Appalachian Shrub-Herbaceous Wetland Systems Summer.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Black Belt Calcareous Prairie and Woodland - Herbaceous Modifier Winter, only within 500 m of water.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Large River Floodplain Forest - Herbaceous Modifier Winter.
East Gulf Coastal Plain Southern Depression Pondshore Winter.
Harvested Forest - Grass/Forb Regeneration Winter, only within 500 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Annual Grassland Winter, only within 500 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Forbland Winter, only within 500 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland Winter, only within 500 m of water.
Introduced Upland Vegetation - Perennial Grassland and Forbland Winter, only within 500 m of water.
Modified/Managed Southern Tall Grassland Winter, only within 500 m of water.
Open Water (Aquaculture) Summer and winter.
Recently Burned Winter, only within 500 m of water.
Recently Burned Forest Winter, only within 500 m of water.
Recently Burned Grassland Winter, only within 500 m of water.
Recently Logged Areas Winter, only within 500 m of water.
South Texas Dune and Coastal Grassland Winter.
South-Central Interior Large Floodplain - Herbaceous Modifier Summer and winter.
Texas-Louisiana Coastal Prairie Slough Winter.
Unconsolidated Shore Summer and winter.
Unconsolidated Shore (Lake/River/Pond) Summer and winter.

All habitats

Seasons in Louisiana

Migratory: does not nest here, in 24 of 64 parishes.
Winter: does not nest here, in 48 of 64 parishes.

Also found in its main habitats

Its main habitats in Louisiana, by how much of its habitat model each one is, with the birds most characteristic of each and the plants that grow wild there. Shared habitat, not food.