Little Bittern

Scientific Name: Ixobrychus minutus
Maltese Name: Russett tas-Sigar
Family: Bitterns and Herons (Ardeidae)
Occurence: Regular Migrant
Breeds in Malta: Yes
Breeding Frequency: Very Rare and Localized

Overview:
This small, colurful heron is very secretive and hard to see, which is a pity for such a handsome species. It is often glimpsed as a medium sized bird with big, pale wing patches, flying low over a reedbed before dropping out of sight into the reeds. It is most active around dusk, moving to good feeding sites at the water's edge where it catches small fish, frogs and large insects. Its long neck and pointed bill make catching prey an easy job for this bird. Its nest is a pile of reed stems built in reeds over water.

Status and Distribution:
Scarce. A few records each year, mainly from Ghadira and Simar Nature reserves. Rarely seen in flocks although on the 25th of April 2007 a group of birdwatchers/ringers recorded circa 40 Little Bitterns migrating during the night from Comino. The next morning, 11 Little Bitterns were seen flying out at dusk.
As a breeder, the Little Bittern is very rare, having bred only in 2 seperate years at Simar Nature Reserve. The 1st breeding record was in 1997 when a pair of Little Bitterns, which had wintered at the reserve in the previous winter, bred in March. In June of the same year, the same pair had their second brood, building a seperate nest not far from the first one. In the same year, another pair bred but the nest was discovered after the chicks had fledged. In the year 2000 a pair of Little Bittern bred again, raising 4 young.

When to See:
Seen mostly in Spring.

Where to See:
Simar and Ghadira Nature Reserve. Sometimes seen in valleys with plenty of reeds.

Photographs:

Adult Male Little Bittern, Simar Nature Reserve


Adult Male Little Bittern, Simar Nature reserve	Nest of Little Bittern with 4 eggs, Simar Nature Reserve, March 1997

Nest of Little Bittern with 3 chicks, Simar Nature Reserve, April 1997	Nest of Little Bittern with 4 chicks, Simar Nature Reserve, July 2000

An interesting Little Bittern story:

An adult female Little Bittern was ringed (EE01256) on Comino Island, Malta, on 26th April 2007 by ringers of Birdlife Malta. After it passed and stayed for a short period in Malta it migrated north to breed somewhere in Europe. When finished breeding, it migrated South again to winter in Sub-Saharan Africa, exactly by lake Tele, near the village of Botongo in the province of Likouala in the Republic of Congo, where it was recovered in January 2008.

The bird was caught in a fishing net in Lac Tele, Congo, and given to Mr. Sylvestre Dongo, a former colleague of Mr Hugo Rainey, who was a former Lac Tele Community Reserve Project Director (now living in Cambodia and works with the Wildlife Conservation Society of Phnom Pen!). Mr Dongo from Congo contacted Mr Rainey in Cambodia about the bird and the latter reported the find to Euring in Europe. Then Euring contacted Birdlife Malta. The bird was reported as a Green-backed (striated) Heron.


The Female Litte Bittern, ringed on Comino, 26th April 2007	Lac Tele, Congo

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