Montana Field Guide

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- Kingdom - Animals - Animalia
  - Phylum - Vertebrates - Craniata
    - Class - Birds - Aves
      - Order - Pelicans / Herons / Bitterns / Ibises - Pelecaniformes
        
        Family - Bitterns / Egrets / Herons / Night-Herons - Ardeidae
        
        Species - Least Bittern - Botaurus exilis

Least Bittern - Botaurus exilis

Other Names: Ixobrychus exilis

Image Copyright and Usage Information

Native Species
Accidental Species

Global Rank: G4
State Rank: SNA

Agency Status
USFWS: MBTA
USFS:
BLM:
PIF:

External Links

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General Description

The Least Bittern breeds from southeast Canada through the U.S. and Mexico. Populations west of the Mississippi River are discontinuous and concentrated in low-lying areas of the Central Valley and Modoc Plateau of California, Klamath and Malheur Basins of Oregon, and along the Colorado River of southwest Arizona and southeast California (Poole et al. 2009). In Montana, the Least Bittern is an accidental species (Montana Bird Distribution Committee 2012).

For a comprehensive review of the conservation status, habitat use, and ecology of this and other Montana bird species, please see Marks et al. 2016, Birds of Montana.

Species Range

Accidental

Western Hemisphere Range

Observations in Montana Natural Heritage Program Database

Number of Observations: 4

(Click on the following maps and charts to see full sized version) Map Help and Descriptions

Relative Density

Recency

SUMMER (Feb 16 - Dec 14)

Direct Evidence of Breeding

Indirect Evidence of Breeding

No Evidence of Breeding

WINTER (Dec 15 - Feb 15)

Regularly Observed

Not Regularly Observed

(Observations spanning multiple months or years are excluded from time charts)

Stewardship Responsibility

References

Literature Cited AboveLegend: View Online Publication
- Marks, J.S., P. Hendricks, and D. Casey. 2016. Birds of Montana. Arrington, VA. Buteo Books. 659 pages.
- Montana Bird Distribution Committee. 2012. P.D. Skaar's Montana bird distribution. 7th Edition. Montana Audubon, Helena, Montana. 208 pp. + foldout map.
- Poole, A.F., P. Lowther, J.P. Gibbs, F.A. Reid and S.M. Melvin. 2009. Least bittern (Ixobrychus exilis). The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
Additional ReferencesLegend: View Online Publication
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- American Ornithologists’ Union [AOU]. 1998. Check-list of North American birds, 7th edition. American Ornithologists’ Union, Washington, D.C. 829 p.
- Cink, C. L. 1974. Breeding status of the Least Bittern in North Dakota. Prairie Nat. 6(2): 29-31.
- Ehrlich, P., D. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birder’s handbook: a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon and Schuster Inc. New York. 785 pp.
- Gibbs, J.P., F.A. Reid and S.M. Melvin. 1992. Least Bittern (Ixobrychus exilis). In: The Birds of North America No. 17. A. Poole and F. Gill, eds. The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia and The American Ornithologists Union, Washington, D. C.
- Hancock, J. and J. Kushlan. 1984. The herons handbook. Croom Helm, Ltd., Kentucky.
- Hays, R., R.L. Eng, and C.V. Davis (preparers). 1984. A list of Montana birds. Helena, MT: MT Dept. of Fish, Wildlife & Parks.
- Johnsgard, P.A. 1992. Birds of the Rocky Mountains with particular reference to national parks in the northern Rocky Mountain region. Lincoln: University of Nebraska Press. xi + 504 pp.
- Joslin, Gayle, and Heidi B. Youmans. 1999. Effects of recreation on Rocky Mountain wildlife: a review for Montana. [Montana]: Montana Chapter of the Wildlife Society.
- Lenard, S., J. Carlson, J. Ellis, C. Jones, and C. Tilly. 2003. P. D. Skaar's Montana bird distribution, 6th edition. Montana Audubon, Helena, MT. 144 pp.
- Lokemoen, J.T. 1979. The status of herons, egrets, and ibises in North Dakota. Prairie Nat. 11(4): 97-110.
- Palmer, R.S. 1962. Handbook of North American birds. Volume 1. Loons through flamingos. Yale University Press, New Haven. 567 pp.
- Sibley, D. 2014. The Sibley guide to birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York, NY. 598 pp.
- Skaar, P.D. 1969. Birds of the Bozeman latilong: a compilation of data concerning the birds which occur between 45 and 46 N. latitude and 111 and 112 W. longitude, with current lists for Idaho, Montana, Wyoming, impinging Montana counties and Yellowstone National Park. Bozeman, MT. 132 p.
- Taylor, D.M. and C.H. Trost. 1987. The status of historically rare of unrecorded birds in Idaho. Unpublished manuscript. 68 p.
- U.S. Forest Service. 1991. Forest and rangeland birds of the United States: Natural history and habitat use. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service Agricultural Handbook 688. 625 pages.
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Citation for data on this website:
Least Bittern — Botaurus exilis. Montana Field Guide. Montana Natural Heritage Program and Montana Fish, Wildlife and Parks. Retrieved on December 22, 2024, from https://FieldGuide.mt.gov/speciesDetail.aspx?elcode=ABNGA02010