---
title: "Eurasian Bittern"
description: "Botaurus stellaris — Birds. The Eurasian bittern or great bittern (Botaurus stellaris) is a wading bird in the bittern subfamily (Botaurinae) of the heron family Ardeidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/eurasian-bittern
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Eurasian Bittern

> Botaurus stellaris — Birds. The Eurasian bittern or great bittern (Botaurus stellaris) is a wading bird in the bittern subfamily (Botaurinae) of the heron family Ardeidae.

- Scientific name: *Botaurus stellaris*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 4964
- Wikidata: [Q25709](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q25709)
- iNaturalist taxon: [5033](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/5033)

## Names

- en: Eurasian Bittern
- de: Rohrdommel
- es: Avetoro común
- fr: Butor étoilé
- nl: Roerdomp
- pt: Abetouro-comum
- pl: Bąk zwyczajny

## Countries with the most observations

RU (1049), GB (684), IT (348), CH (268), CN (219), DE (198), FR (164), NL (148), UA (130), DK (82), PL (78), TW (68)

## Summary

The Eurasian bittern or great bittern (Botaurus stellaris) is a wading bird in the bittern subfamily (Botaurinae) of the heron family Ardeidae. There are two subspecies, the northern race (B. s. stellaris) breeding in parts of Europe and across the Palearctic, as well as on the northern coast of Africa, while the southern race (B. s. capensis) is endemic to parts of southern Africa. It is a secretive bird, seldom seen in the open as it prefers to skulk in reed beds and thick vegetation near water bodies. Its presence is apparent in the spring, when the booming call of the male during the breeding season can be heard…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eurasian_bittern

## Photo

![Eurasian Bittern](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/eurasian-bittern/medium.jpg)

Photo: Dario Taraborelli · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/192746037

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/eurasian-bittern?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).