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bittern

 
Dictionary: bit·tern1   (bĭt'ərn) pronunciation
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n.
Any of several wading birds of the genera Botaurus and Ixobrychus, having mottled brownish plumage and a deep booming cry in the male.

[Alteration (perhaps influenced by TERN1) of Middle English bitour, from Old French butor, possibly from Vulgar Latin *buti-taurus : Latin būtiō, buzzard + Latin taurus, bull (after its cry).]


bit·tern2 (bĭt'ərn) pronunciation
n.
The bitter water solution of bromides, magnesium, and calcium salts remaining after sodium chloride is crystallized out of seawater.

[From BITTER.]


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Chemistry Dictionary: bittern
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The solution of salts remaining when sodium chloride is crystallized from sea water.


Britannica Concise Encyclopedia: bittern
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Any of 12 species of solitary marsh birds (family Ardeidae), related to herons but having a shorter neck and a stouter body. Most bitterns bear a camouflage pattern (streaks of variegated brown and buff) that enables them to hide by standing upright with bill pointed upward, imitating the reeds and grasses of their habitat. They feed on fish, frogs, crayfish, and other small swamp and marsh animals, which they spear with their sharp-pointed bills. Bitterns are found almost worldwide. The largest species grow to 30 in. (75 cm), the smallest to about 12 – 16 in. (30 – 40 cm).

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Columbia Encyclopedia: bittern
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bittern, common name for migratory marsh birds of the family Ardeidae (heron family). The American bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus), often called "stake driver" because of a territorial male's booming call in the spring, is widely distributed in E North America. It is mostly nocturnal and feeds on frogs, fish, and insects. When pursued, the bittern escapes detection by standing motionless with its bill uplifted, its brown and yellow markings and striped foreneck blending with the marsh grasses. It is about 2 to 3 ft (61-91 cm) tall; the western and eastern least bitterns, genus Ixobrychus, are about half this size. Of the 12 species of bitterns, 8 constitute the smaller birds. The female bittern builds the nest, which consists of an unkempt arrangement of sedge grass and reeds. The nests are built on the ground along rivers or lakeshores and house the clutch of 3 to 6 eggs. Both male and female share the incubation duties. Bitterns are classified in the phylum Chordata, subphylum Vertebrata, class Aves, order Ciconiiformes, family Ardeidae.

Wikipedia: Bittern
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For other uses, see Bittern (disambiguation).
Bitterns
Least Bittern
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Ardeidae
Genera

Ixobrychus Billberg, 1828
Botaurus Stephens, 1819

Bitterns are a classification of birds in the heron family, Ardeidae, a family of wading birds. Species named bitterns tend to be the shorter-necked, often more secretive members of this family. They were called hæferblæte in Old English; the word "bittern" came to English from Old French butor, itself from Gallo-roman butitaurus, a portmanteau of Latin būtiō and taurus.[1] Bitterns form a monophyletic subfamily in the heron family, the Botaurinae.

Bitterns usually frequent reedbeds and similar marshy areas, and feed on amphibians, reptiles, insects, and fish.

Unlike the similar storks, ibises and spoonbills, herons and bitterns fly with their necks retracted, not outstretched.

The genus Ixobrychus contains mainly small species:

The genus Botaurus is the larger bitterns:

The genus Zebrilus includes only one species:

Notes

  1. ^ Joseph P. Pickett et al., ed (2000). "Bittern". The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language (4th ed. ed.). Boston: Houghton Mifflin. http://www.bartleby.com/61/77/B0287700.html. Retrieved 2006-07-04. 

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

 
 

 

Copyrights:

Dictionary. The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition Copyright © 2007, 2000 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Updated in 2009. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.  Read more
Chemistry Dictionary. A Dictionary of Chemistry. Sixth Edition. Copyright © Market House Books Ltd, 2008. All rights reserved.  Read more
Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. Britannica Concise Encyclopedia. © 2006 Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. All rights reserved.  Read more
Columbia Encyclopedia. The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition Copyright © 2003, Columbia University Press. Licensed from Columbia University Press. All rights reserved. www.cc.columbia.edu/cu/cup/.  Read more
Wikipedia. This article is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "Bittern".  Read more