I agree that the bird is an immature night-heron rather than an American Bittern. It is mainly the head and bill that give me that impression. Its short, thick bill is unlike the longer, more dagger-like bill of the American Bittern, as Jeff pointed out. Another characteristic of the bill and head shape is the angle between the bird’s forehead and the top of its bill. In a bittern, this angle is shallow and the top of the bill is nearly level with the top of the head, giving the bird’s head and bill together a sleek, streamlined look. In a night-heron, by contrast, there is a steep angle from the forehead down to the bill, as this bird shows, giving its head and bill a blunt appearance.

The media search tool on eBird is a good way to quickly find many photos of each species. Here are links to photos of American Bitterns and immature night-herons, respectively:

https://ebird.org/media/catalog?taxonCode=amebit&q=American%20Bittern%20-%20Botaurus%20lentiginosus <https://ebird.org/media/catalog?taxonCode=amebit&q=American%20Bittern%20-%20Botaurus%20lentiginosus>
https://ebird.org/media/catalog?taxonCode=bcnher&q=Black-crowned%20Night-Heron%20-%20Nycticorax%20nycticorax&age=i,j <https://ebird.org/media/catalog?taxonCode=bcnher&q=Black-crowned%20Night-Heron%20-%20Nycticorax%20nycticorax&age=i,j>
https://ebird.org/media/catalog?taxonCode=ycnher&q=Yellow-crowned%20Night-Heron%20-%20Nyctanassa%20violacea&age=i,j <https://ebird.org/media/catalog?taxonCode=ycnher&q=Yellow-crowned%20Night-Heron%20-%20Nyctanassa%20violacea&age=i,j>

I don’t have much experience with immature night-herons, nor do I have a field guide within reach, so I can’t be sure about which night-heron species it is, but Black-crowned was my first impression and certainly would be more likely.

Adam Burnett
Dartmouth College

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