Australian Little Bittern (23/24)

CICONIIFORMES: Ardeidae

Ixobrychus minutus  

Little is the operative word. The Australian Little Bittern is little. No wonder the Latin species name is minutus.

We returned to the pond late in the afternoon, about 4.30 pm, and were lucky enough to find Jenny Stephens had sighted the bird a couple of times during our absence and it appeared to be making its way in a clockwise direction around the pond in the reeds.

We learnt that you must remember to look for a small bird, and it was very true. It is surprisingly small when you finally see it. The bittern is clearly visible in this photograph taken from across the pond. Can you see it?

Hint, click on the above photo to get a larger image, then look at the base of the tallest green bunch of reeds to the right of centre of the photograph. The bittern is looking towards the left.