Mark Schocken Least Bittern in Flight Last of three shots of the Least Bittern I saw this morning. Adult males have buff and chestnut inner wing patches that contrast sharply with the black of the outer half of the wings. This male Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis) made short flight along the Bulrushes (Scirpus spp.) Females and immatures are brown instead of black. Description : The pigeon-sized least bittern is usually seen in flight over a cattail marsh. The foundation is sometimes a nest from previous years, or even an old nest of another species, such as Marsh Wren. One of the smallest herons in the world, adapted for life in dense marshes. Rather than wading in the shallows like most herons, the Least Bittern climbs about in cattails and reeds, clinging to the stems with its long toes.
Ixobrychus exilis.
Where food is abundant, Least Bittern pairs might nest very near others, almost colonially. The Least Bittern is the smallest member of the Heron family (Ardeidae) in the Americas. at the Green Cay Wetlands in Boynton Beach, Florida. This was a fly by which actually started it off. The male occasionally repairs the nest even as the female incubates. Its narrow body allows …
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