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. 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:
- Little Bittern, Ixobrychus minutus
- Australian Little Bittern, Ixobrychus dubius
- New Zealand Little Bittern, Ixobrychus novaezelandiae (extinct)
- Cinnamon Bittern, Ixobrychus cinnamomeus
- Stripe-backed Bittern, Ixobrychus involucris
- Least Bittern, Ixobrychus exilis
- Yellow Bittern, Ixobrychus sinensis
- Schrenck's Bittern, Ixobrychus eurhythmus
- Dwarf Bittern, Ixobrychus sturmii
- Black Bittern, Ixobrychus flavicollis
The genus Botaurus is the larger bitterns:
- American Bittern, Botaurus lentiginosa.
- Eurasian Bittern or Great Bittern, Botaurus stellaris
- South American Bittern, Botaurus pinnatus
- Australasian Bittern, Botaurus poiciloptilus
- Botaurus hibbardi (fossil)
The genus Zebrilus includes only one species:
- Zigzag Heron (or properly Zigzag Bittern), Zebrilus undulatus