Little bittern or top. Little bittern or little bittern (ixobrychus minutus)

Ixobrychus minutus (Linnaeus, 1766)

Order Ciconiiformes

Heron family – Ardeidae

Status of the species in the country and in adjacent regions

The species is listed in the Red Books and is protected in the Moscow (category 3), Ryazan (category 3), Kaluga (category 2) and Lipetsk (category 3) regions.

Distribution and abundance

The range covers the center and south of Europe, South Asia, part of Africa and Australia. In the Tula region - a rare breeding species. Distributed mosaically. Gravitates towards bodies of water of anthropogenic origin. A permanent meeting place is the Cherepetskoye Reservoir, where at least three pairs regularly nest. The average number of chicks in broods (according to observations from 2003-2005) is 3.3. Broods live on islands overgrown with reeds.

Habitats and biology

Inhabits lakes, ponds, river oxbows with dense thickets of reeds, reeds, willows, and alders. Migrant. Appears on nesting sites at the end of May. Settles in thickets of reeds or other tall vegetation, in coastal bushes. The little bittern makes its nest on bent stems, or, less often, on the branches of trees and shrubs hanging over the water. Birds can settle in separate pairs or colonially. There are usually 4-6 eggs in a clutch. Incubation period is 16-21 days. The chicks leave the nest at the age of about 9 days, after which they actively climb stems and branches in the immediate vicinity. At the age of one month, young bitterns begin to fly and the broods break up. The main diet of these birds consists of aquatic and semi-aquatic invertebrates, small amphibians and their larvae, and small fish. Bitterns most often watch for prey while standing motionless in shallow water.

Limiting factors and threats

A little-studied species. Possible reason rarity - limited habitat suitable for nesting.

Security measures taken and required

The species is listed in Appendix 2 of the Berne Convention, the Red Book of the Tula Region. Continued work is required to clarify the distribution and abundance.

Photo

A. P. Levashkin.

Compiled by

O. V. Brigadirova.

Information sources

1. Stepanyan, 1990; 2. Shvets et al., 2003a; 3. Brigadirova, 2006

Appearance and behavior. The smallest representative of the herons of our fauna, does not exceed in size, body length 33–38 cm, weight 100–150 grams, wingspan 52–58 cm. It has a light and slender build, paws are very long-fingered, the beak is long and thin. It deftly climbs the stems of reeds and branches of bushes, grasping them with its fingers, but is most often caught flying low over the water or over the thickets. Compared to the bittern, it is not nearly as secretive and allows itself to be seen much more often, although in case of danger it can also take a “hiding pose” with its neck and head stretched upward. Active during the day and at dusk.

Description. Sexual dimorphism is well expressed, which is a unique phenomenon for our herons. The male is mostly pale buff; his back, cap, flight and tail feathers are black. In flight, the contrast between the black flight feathers and the light “shield” of the wing is striking. The legs are green, the beak is light yellow to orange. The female is much duller, her black color is replaced by brown (many feathers have light edges), and the pale buff color is replaced by dirty sand, dark longitudinal stripes are noticeable on the neck (in the male they are almost indistinguishable). However, the characteristic two-color coloring of the wing is also noticeable, although not so contrasting. In steady flight, like all herons, it folds its neck so that it looks short. Young birds are light brown in color with many longitudinal dark streaks. The chicks are covered with light red down.

Voice not as expressive as that of, although it vaguely resembles it: these are quiet, hoarse sounds, from a distance similar to the rhythmic barking of a dog, but up close - like a dull aspiration. These cries are the “song” of the top; they can be heard in May and June; the rest of the time it is silent.

Distribution, status. Breeds on all continents and many islands of the Eastern Hemisphere, starting from the south of the taiga zone. In European Russia, it reaches approximately the latitude of St. Petersburg to the north. In the north of the range it is rare and is not found in all suitable places; in the forest-steppe and steppe zone it becomes enough normal look. Wintering grounds are located far south of the area covered by the guide - in southern Asia and in tropical Africa, is not found in European Russia in winter.

Lifestyle. In spring it arrives relatively late, at the end of April or May, and flies away early, in September. It settles in places where thickets of reeds and other herbaceous emergent vegetation alternate with dense flooded shrubs. It can live in relatively small bodies of water - oxbow rivers, ponds and the like. It nests in separate pairs, sometimes at a short distance from each other.

The nest is most often placed on the branches of a flooded willow bush half a meter above the water or touches the base of the water and is a bowl-shaped structure made of leaves and reed stems. The tray is usually lined with reed leaves. At the beginning, the nest, like that of other herons, has the shape of an inverted cone, but later it is trampled and becomes flat. There are up to 10 pure white eggs in the clutch. Both parents incubate the clutch and feed the chicks. Newly hatched chicks are completely helpless; after a week they are already standing in the nest and, when a person approaches, they take the same position as adult birds, that is, they stretch their head and neck upward and remain motionless in this position. Very early, the chicks begin to deftly climb branches and reed stems.

The Little Bittern belongs to the order Acioriformes, the family Herons, the genus Lesser Bittern and the species Lesser Bittern. The second name for this bird is top.

Behavior and appearance

We can say that this is the smallest heron in our fauna; its body size is not more sizes jackdaws, body length from 33 to 38 cm, wingspan from 52 to 58 cm, and weight from 100 to 150 grams. The physique is slender and light, the beak is thin and long, the paws are long-toed. She moves very easily along reed stems and bush branches, deftly grasping them with her paws. And yet, more often they were seen flying quite low over thickets or water. Compared to the bittern, the small bittern is not so secretive and can be seen more often, but still, when in danger, it also takes a “hiding pose,” stretching its head and neck upward. They are active at dusk and during the day.

Description

In the Little Bittern, sexual differences are very clearly expressed, although this is a rare phenomenon for herons. Males most often have a pale buffy color; their back, cap, tail and flight feathers are black. During the flight, the difference between the light “shield” of the wing and the black flight feathers is striking. The beak of males can be light yellow to orange, and the legs have green color. The female is much dimmer. The black color has been replaced by brown (many feathers have a light border), the pale buff color has been replaced by a dirty sand color, and dark stripes are visible on its neck (they are almost invisible in males). But the two-color color of the wings, characteristic of the little bittern, can also be seen in the female, although not so contrasting. During the flight, the bittern folds its neck, and it looks quite short. Young individuals have light brown plumage, with a large number of dark longitudinal streaks. Well, the chicks are covered with down, light red in color.

The little bittern has a voice that is vaguely reminiscent of the great bittern's voice, but it is not as expressive. She makes hoarse, quiet sounds, which, from a distance, can resemble a dog barking, and up close, a slightly muffled aspiration. These sounds are called the “song” of the top, and they are heard in the months of May and June. At other times she is quite silent.

Little bittern in a nest with chicks

Spreading

Little bitterns build nests on the continents and islands of the Earth's Eastern Hemisphere. These are Central Asia, Europe, Australia, Western India, Africa. In our country it is found in the territory starting from the European part (north to St. Petersburg) and ending with Western Siberia. You will not find this bird in European Russia in winter; for the winter it flies to Africa.

Lifestyle

They arrive in the spring in late April or May, and fly away for the winter in September. The little bittern, like the great bittern, flies away for the winter and returns to the nesting site alone. Does not form a flock. They often settle in places where emergent grassy vegetation and reed thickets alternate with flooded dense bushes. It can also choose to live in small bodies of water - ponds, river oxbows and similar places.

Reproduction

The small bittern forms nests in separate pairs, which occupy a decent area of ​​land. The nests are located so that they are well camouflaged in the vegetation. The nest is usually built on the branches of a willow bush; it either touches the water with its base, or can hang above the water at a distance of 50-60 cm. They are also found on low trees, in a plexus of reed stems. It turns out that the height of the nest depends on the vegetation on which it is located. The nest is cup-shaped, initially it looks like an inverted cone, but over time it is trampled and the bottom becomes flat. Construction materials dry, hard stems of vegetation serve, sometimes with the addition of twigs of alder and willow, but inside the nest is lined with reed leaves and thin stems. This type The bittern lays eggs from the first days of June until the last days of July. It depends on the climate and terrain. Typically 5 to 9 eggs are laid. Both the male and female are involved in incubating and raising the chicks. They incubate the eggs for 16-19 days. After just a few days, the babies begin to climb the reed stems, and after a week or a week and a half they leave the nest for a short time. After a month they are already starting to fly.

Little bittern in flight

Nutrition

Most often they choose reed stems for hunting. They sit on these stems, which are located above the water itself, near the edge of dense thickets, in close proximity to clean water and guard their prey. They eat tadpoles, frogs, small fish, and various aquatic invertebrates. They have also been seen destroying the nests of passerine birds that live in dense vegetation near water, stealing both their eggs and chicks.

Security

Many countries in Europe noted a clear decline in the number of small bitterns between 1970 and 1990. The main factor was reclamation, which led to the final disappearance of many small reservoirs, another factor was the destruction of coastal trees, thickets and shrubs for the use of reservoirs for economic purposes, as well as the destruction of nests by various predators.

The Little Bittern is listed in the Red Books of the Leningrad and Tver regions, as well as in the Red Books of the Estonian and Latvian Republics, Belarus. Listed in the EU Protection Directive rare birds, in Appendix 1, in Appendix 2 in the Berne Convention, in Appendix 2 of the Bonn Convention, this species is also classified as SPEC 3.

In contact with

Little bittern - Ixobrichus minutus Linnaeus, 1766

Order Ciconiiformes - Ciconiiformes

Family Heron -Ardeidae

Category, status. 3 - rare, sporadically widespread species with naturally low numbers. The species is included in the Red Books of Tver and Leningrad regions. Included in the Red Books of Belarus, the Latvian and Estonian Republics, and also included in Appendix I of the EU Directive for the Protection of Rare Birds, Appendix II of the Berne Convention, Appendix II of the Bonn Convention, classified as SPEC 3.

Short description. Very small heron (body length 33-38 cm, weight 130-170 g). The top of the head and back are black, the neck and chest are buffy, the wing is pinkish-yellow with a black tip, the beak and legs are greenish. Young birds are brown with streaks. The flight is quite fast(1).

Area and distribution. The nominative subspecies I. m. lives in the Pskov region. minutus, whose range extends across all of Europe (north to the latitude of St. Petersburg), Asia Minor and Central Asia. Kazakhstan, south western Siberia; to the south it reaches northwestern India and northern Africa. Information about the nature of the distribution of the species in the Pskov region is fragmentary. Two adult birds were noted in 1957 on a channel of an unnamed lake overgrown with willows and reeds in the Plyussky district on the border of the Leningrad and Pskov regions (2). During the nesting period of 1984, the top was noted near the village of Maksyutino, in 1986 on lake. Come, in 1978 on Lake Nishcha. In August 1985-1987. hunters caught individuals of this species near the lake. Poverty and on old ponds near the village of Idritsa (3). In June 1994, it was recorded in flooded willow forests in the Lovat floodplain below Borisogleb in the Velikoluksky district (4). In 1986, a nest was found on Lake Sebezhskoye in which tops raised 5 chicks (5). In July 2004, one female was noted on one of the ponds near the village of Fedorovskoye, not far from the village of Loknya (6).

Habitats and biological features. It nests in thickets of bushes, reeds, cattails and other tall emergent vegetation on stagnant bodies of water or slowly flowing watercourses: in quarries, on ponds and lakes, at the mouths of rivers. In the Pskov region, it is a transit migrating, nesting migratory species. Arrives in late April - mid-May. It leads a secretive lifestyle with twilight and nocturnal activity, but in nesting areas it can be observed during the day, flying over the water. Breeds in separate pairs. The clutch contains from 4 to 9 white eggs, which are incubated by both parents for up to three weeks. The chicks fly on the wing when they are one month old. Autumn departure in August - September.

The diet includes animal food - small fish, aquatic invertebrates, and amphibians.

Species abundance and limiting factors. In the 1970-1990s, a significant reduction in numbers was noted in many European countries. The main limiting factors are land reclamation, leading to the complete drainage of small shallow water bodies; destruction of high coastal vegetation in the process economic use bodies of water; destruction of nests by ground predators and corvids.

Security measures. Preservation of the species in specially protected areas natural areas. It is necessary to carry out regular censuses in order to identify the population in the region, identify nesting sites, and organize their protection.

Information sources:

1. Boehme, 1998; 2. Malchevsky, Pukinsky, 1983; 3. Fetisov et al., 2002; 4. Bardin et al., 1995; 5. Fedorov, 1997, 6. Medvedev, 2005.

Compiled by: E. G. Fedorova.

Plan
Introduction
1 General characteristics
2 Distribution
3 Lifestyle
3.1 Power
3.2 Voice
3.3 Reproduction

Bibliography

Introduction

Lesser bittern, or top (lat. Ixobrychus minutus) - a bird of the heron family, the smallest heron.

1. General characteristics

The growth of the small bittern reaches only 36 cm. Weight is 136-145 g, the wing length is about 15 cm. The small bittern is the only representative of the order Cioriformes, in which the male and female differ in color. The male little bittern has a black cap with a green tint on his head, wings and back, a creamy-white head and neck, an ocher belly with whitish feather tips. The beak is yellow-greenish. The female's back is brown with streaks, her belly, head and neck are buffy. The female's beak is yellow with a brown tip.

2. Distribution

The Little Bittern breeds in Europe, Central Asia, Western India, Africa and Australia. European bitterns - migratory birds, flying to Africa for the winter. In Russia, the small bittern can be found from the European part (in the north to St. Petersburg) to Western Siberia.

3. Lifestyle

The small bittern nests on the banks of large and small bodies of water with standing water, overgrown with vegetation. This bird leads a very secretive lifestyle, deftly climbing reeds, grabbing the stems with tenacious long fingers. It does not fly very willingly, only for short distances, very low above the thickets or the surface of the water. Active mainly at night. In Europe, it arrives from wintering grounds in April - early May, and flies to wintering grounds in August-September. Like the great bittern, the small bittern flies to nesting grounds and flies away to wintering alone, without forming flocks. Most often it flies at night.

Feeding Little bittern feeding small fish, frogs, tadpoles, aquatic invertebrates. Sometimes the chicks of small passerine birds are captured. Voice

3.3. Reproduction

Tops nest solitarily or, less often, in scattered colonies. Each pair occupies a fairly large nesting area. The nest is made in the thicket of reeds or in the branches of a tree. After the chicks hatch, the conical nest is trampled and becomes flat. The Little Bittern lays eggs from early June to late July, depending on the terrain and climate. There are 5-9 white eggs in a clutch. Both parents incubate and raise the chicks. Already at the age of several days, little bittern chicks deftly climb reed stems, grabbing them with long thin fingers. At the age of 7-12 days, the chicks can already leave the nest for a short time. At the age of 1 month, the little bittern chicks are already on their wings.

Bibliography:

1. Boehme R.L., Flint V.E. Five-language dictionary of animal names. Birds. Latin, Russian, English, German, French. / under the general editorship of acad. V. E. Sokolova. - M.: Rus. lang., "RUSSO", 1994. - P. 24. - 2030 copies. - ISBN 5-200-00643-0