Chestnut Bittern (Ixobrychus Cinnamomeus)

This bittern derives its name from the chestnut-cinnamon colour of its plumage. Adding colour to it is the whitish chin and throat and a dark median stripe down its forehead. The lower breast of the bird is a whole lot paler than the upper breast giving it a nice shading in totality.

The male and the female of the chestnut bittern look slightly different, with the female being duller with brown streaked rufous-buff under parts. The different appearance of the two sexes is not an uncommon phenomenon among birds and in majority of the cases the female is a shade duller. It is believed that the female which often accompanies the chicks requires to blend into the surroundings reducing the chances of predation, while the male needs to be noticed by the female during the mating season and is thus brightly coloured.


¤ Found In

The bird is found throughout the greater part of the Indian subcontinent including the islands of andaman, Nicobar, Sri Lanka and the Maldives. It roams in solitude among its favorite haunt- the reedy marshes. Some times it can be found among flooded paddy fields and on rare occasions near the coastal backwaters.
This bittern like the other members of its tribes has an effective defence tactic popularly known as ‘On Guard’. When threatened the bittern freezes, neck stretched perpendicularly, bill pointing skywards almost becoming invisible among its reedy environment.