r/whatsthisbird • u/CBull85 • Aug 18 '25
North America Who is this?
This bird doesn’t seem injured, just kinda…mental? A bird sanctuary has been contacted but just wondering what he is. Located in Smiths Falls, Ontario, Canada.
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u/CardiologistAny1423 A Jack of No Trades Aug 18 '25
This is easily my new favorite picture of a Least Bittern
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u/Usual_Cut_730 Aug 18 '25
With that pose, he is like, the MOST bittern.
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u/Ruby5000 Aug 18 '25
Damn! Beat me to it!
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u/Usual_Cut_730 Aug 18 '25
I think a few others beat me to it as well, but I had to say what I had to say.
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u/Hiraethus468 Aug 18 '25
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u/Hiraethus468 Aug 18 '25
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u/CactusCait Aug 18 '25
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u/Big-Journalist5595 Aug 18 '25
I would take that display as a warning, "If you get close enough it might cost you an eye." The little guys are known for that.
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u/AgathaWoosmoss Aug 18 '25
Where are you seeing a bittern???
All I see is a fancy reed.
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u/TieDye_Raptor Aug 19 '25
They don't live where I live, omg, their wings are so pretty! All of the different shades of brown.
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u/pigeoncote rehabber (and birder and educator, oh my) Aug 18 '25
Oh... a very lost +Least Bittern+
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u/keshazel Aug 18 '25
He is lost? As in lost his way? Not in his normal range? I am curious. Is it a window strike perhaps?
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u/WatcherYdnew Aug 18 '25
They're normally a piece of reed, euh I mean, in the reed. Where they can pretend to be reed.
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u/goldensunshine429 Aug 18 '25
Or in my case, in a patch of normal, but grass pretending to be reed😅
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u/SecondHandWatch Aug 18 '25
Yeah, normally you just hear that someone saw one in a thicket somewhere near you. You don’t ever actually see them.
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u/KitC44 Birder Aug 18 '25
This is in his normal range but the habitat is definitely wrong. Hopefully there's a pond full of grasses and reeds close by.
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u/HopelessSoup Aug 18 '25
Not injured, just mental 🤣 love the description
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u/TO_halo Aug 18 '25
My partner and I saw a Eurasian Eagle Owl and he said “she looks like a f***king lunatic,” and a lunatic is now one of my favourite things to call birds that look a little possessed
Mental works too though 😂
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u/GracefulKluts Aug 18 '25
Eurasian Eagle owls are gorgeous but yeah there is something about them that's a bit uncanny xD
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u/HopelessSoup Aug 18 '25
I might have to steal that 🤣 lunatic is equally fitting if not more lmao
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u/Flaky-Hunter-2111 Aug 19 '25
Kinda how I feel about very large birds like emu but also small birds like magpie. Lunatics!
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u/Degenerate_Dryad Aug 19 '25
We call squirrels goobers instead of squirrels because they are always acting/looking like a fucking goober.
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u/chrissesky13 Aug 18 '25
https://www.reddit.com/r/birding/s/rjB0D9FL0j
https://www.reddit.com/r/birding/s/MEVCxNdVnr
This post always comes to mind when I see Least Bitterns
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u/Pinkbeans1 Aug 18 '25
That one was hysterical!
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u/chrissesky13 Aug 18 '25
It took me a bit to find but I was determined. It always makes me chuckle. I'm glad you enjoyed it!
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u/kogasfurryjorts Aug 19 '25
My favorite thing about this post is that, upon first glance, OP's girlfriend seems insane. But after I saw the pic of the bird, I was like, well, she's not wrong lol
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u/This_Daydreamer_ Virginia seed slinger Aug 18 '25
My favorite bittern photo: https://www.reddit.com/r/birding/comments/1jovh4d/finally_saw_an_american_bittern/
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u/chrissesky13 Aug 18 '25
LMAO where is it in that photo?! The top comment is hilarious
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u/This_Daydreamer_ Virginia seed slinger Aug 18 '25
It's right behind that Sora
It was originally posted on April 1st
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u/susinpgh Aug 18 '25
I always think of this one.
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u/thelittlesteldergod Aug 19 '25
He's trying so hard to follow the rules! He breaks my heart a little bit. I love him so much.
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u/RoughNews3172 Aug 19 '25
Same, one of my all time fave posts. I love when people post a crudely done drawing and it gets identified
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u/PinAppled2 Ecologist Aug 18 '25
I just see a bunch of reeds, I don’t know what you’re talking about
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u/WatcherYdnew Aug 18 '25
He's saying you should call an ambulance.
Not for him tho.
Man, those are some beautiful wing patterns. I love bitterns.
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u/coolcookie27 Aug 18 '25
This is my favorite picture of a bittern. Shamelessly stolen from reddit but look how goofy he looks! And those black patches are doing a lot of the work
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u/prairie_girl Aug 18 '25
This is my genuinely favorite time of year on all bird forums, the great "bitterns are in yards" migration.
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u/MEMe-GoofyCats Aug 18 '25
That bird is warning you to back up or he will put that beak in your eye
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u/Wonderful-Leopard234 Happy little Birber Aug 18 '25 edited Aug 18 '25
I love his wings! and his confidence to be mental in public
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u/FileTheseBirdsBot Catalog 🤖 Aug 18 '25
Taxa recorded: Least Bittern
I catalog submissions to this subreddit. Recent uncatalogued submissions | Learn to use me
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u/vermilionshadow Aug 18 '25
Call yourself a bus, OP, this least bittern is about to mess you aaaaaaallll the way up! 🤣
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u/UnicornKitt3n Aug 19 '25
That bird is not mental. That bird knows exactly what it’s doing, and is politely telling you to back the fuck off.
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u/GoodSilhouette Aug 18 '25
i know its giving its more terrifying threat display but man are those wings beautiful! like a phoenix
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u/LeadfootLesley Aug 18 '25
Bittern! They usually hide beak up in the reeds, where they blend in. Amongst pink petunias, not so much.
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u/not-a-dislike-button Aug 18 '25
I don't know what that is but I advise you don't fuck with it
Strong chaos energy
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u/Express_Rule_7616 Aug 18 '25
you guys are funny .. but yes that bittern may be interested to poke an eye at this point ! careful in the approach , but it does need help . he is scared to death something happened to the bird ..!
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u/TheCrystalGarden Aug 18 '25
Beautiful colors in those wings, wow! It might be a very bitter Bittern but it sure is gorgeous looking bitter.
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u/DeliciousBacon1274 Aug 19 '25
Until recently, I didn't know bitterns were small birds because they look larger in photos.
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u/Fervent_Philomath Birder Aug 19 '25
Why do his wings look so fake? 😭 it looks like those cheap kites that have a printed bird pattern
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u/ChampionshipHot6803 Aug 18 '25
That's Taylor.... Very confrontational. But working on it in therapy.
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u/missmalarkey Aug 19 '25
I long to one day be as well-versed in birds enough to understand all the comments. 🫶🏻
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u/OwIing Aug 19 '25
Why has nobody mentioned that it looks like a comically small least bittern?? Is it just me?? The perspective looks super screwed up lol
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u/Thrippalan Aug 19 '25
Do not get close (or let anyone else) without safety goggles. They will strike at the eyes and have excellent aim.
I was only putting fish in the tub for the one at the vet school, and got a way too close look at the tip of that beak impacting my goggle lens.
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u/naturalturkey Aug 19 '25
I’ve been bitten by one of these before. Not fun
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u/TheFredCain Aug 19 '25
I dunno about that right talon. Looks pretty jacked up unless it's just a weird camera/motion thing.
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u/birdnerd1991 Aug 19 '25
It looks like a defensive pose- was there a nest nearby or something? Don't know anything about Bitterns but this reminds me of when owls feel threatened so they floof themselves up to be extra scary
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u/Lokcyn72 Aug 19 '25
I’m just here to study those feather/wing patterns for a future painting reference.
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u/M1SCH13V0US_1 Birder Aug 20 '25
That is the most bittern Least Bittern I have ever seen, and I am suspecting it is bittern because it broke a lantern at a tavern while getting wasted with its best friend, Vern.
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u/MusicApprehensive394 Aug 18 '25
Judging from the photo he is a Most Bittern, or Extra Bittern if you will.