Cinnamon Bittern (Botaurus cinnamomeus)
Illustration redrawn by AI from a real photograph

Cinnamon Bittern

Botaurus cinnamomeus (Gmelin, JF, 1789)

It is a small bittern with cinnamon upperparts in the male; when alarmed on the nest, it stretches its neck and points its bill skyward.

Busiest months: January and May–August · Most records: China, India, Thailand

How to identify

Field marks

  1. Short neck; rather long bill
  2. Male has entirely cinnamon upperparts
  3. Pale yellow underparts

Male, female and young

The female is similar but has a rufous back and crown; juveniles resemble females, with many rufous stripes on the underparts.

Where and when it's recorded

Cinnamon Bittern has been recorded at 857 of the 8,171 birding hotspots we track, in 23 countries and regions.

Records by month Northern Hemisphere

Where it's recorded most

  1. Lizejian IBA – 52-Jia WetlandTaiwan (China)604 records
  2. Aogu Wetland IBATaiwan (China)590 records
  3. Kaohsiung – Meinong Zhongzheng Lake Pheasant-tailed Jacana HabitatTaiwan (China)503 records
More places
  1. Candaba MarshPhilippines437 records
  2. Phnom Krom – rice fieldsCambodia416 records
  3. Budai Wetland IBA – Northeast Area / Budai Wetland ParkTaiwan (China)327 records
  4. Beimen IBA – ShanliaowanTaiwan (China)318 records
  5. Prek Toal Bird SanctuaryCambodia305 records
  6. Khon Kaen University – WTPThailand261 records
  7. Sicao IBATaiwan (China)246 records

Countries and regions with the most records

ChinaIndiaThailandCambodiaPhilippinesSingaporeMalaysiaVietnam

eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.

Questions

Where does the Cinnamon Bittern live?

Its breeding range: Oriental, Palearctic: Pakistan and Maldives through southeastern, East Asia to eastern China, Ryukyu Islands (southern Japan), south to Philippines and western, central, Indonesian Archipelago. It is most often recorded in China, India and Thailand.

When is the best time to see the Cinnamon Bittern?

At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in January, May, June, July and August (Northern Hemisphere).

What family is the Cinnamon Bittern in?

It belongs to the family Herons, Bitterns (Ardeidae), order Pelecaniformes.

Range

Oriental, Palearctic: Pakistan and Maldives through southeastern, East Asia to eastern China, Ryukyu Islands (southern Japan), south to Philippines and western, central, Indonesian Archipelago

Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2

Classification

Family
Herons, Bitterns Ardeidae
Genus
Botaurus

Other birds in the genus Botaurus

Eurasian BitternEurasian BitternBotaurus stellarisAustralasian BitternAustralasian BitternBotaurus poiciloptilusAmerican BitternAmerican BitternBotaurus lentiginosusPinnated BitternPinnated BitternBotaurus pinnatusStripe-backed BitternStripe-backed BitternBotaurus involucrisLeast BitternLeast BitternBotaurus exilisBlack BitternBlack BitternBotaurus flavicollisVon Schrenck's BitternVon Schrenck's BitternBotaurus eurhythmusDwarf BitternDwarf BitternBotaurus sturmiiLittle BitternLittle BitternBotaurus minutusYellow BitternYellow BitternBotaurus sinensisBlack-backed BitternBlack-backed BitternBotaurus dubius
Cinnamon Bittern

Download illustration

Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by Shantanu Kuveskar. ↗

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