The Central American bittern is a small bird with a long bill and rufous plumage. It lives in swamps and dense coastal thickets of North and Central America.
The Central American bittern differs from related species by its rufous color and striped pattern on the sides. It is important for marsh ecosystems because it eats many insects and serves as food for predatory birds and mammals.
With a long beak, it probes the mud and water in search of prey.
Worker
birth time
Describes the act of excavating soil or substrate to locate or access food.
Picking small food items from foliage, ground, or other surfaces.
Dogs, dolphins, lynx hang out for 9-25 years and party on their birthday three times a year
probing
m
Map
will celebrate their {n} birthday
g
lots of rain, warm summer, snow in winter
t
When your next jubilee falls in {name} life years
Human
Legs count
days
South and Central America, hot and humid, huge forests
Warm summer
worms
Bill count
How old you would be if you lived as {name}
Theoretical maximum lifespan estimated from the Dynamic Energy Budget (DEB) mathematical model. This value reflects a biological potential derived from metabolic parameters, not from direct observation — real recorded lifespans are often significantly shorter.
beak
adult
Maturity
fish of small size
plant
South and Central America, hot and humid, huge forests
invertebrates
insects
About health
cool, lots of coniferous trees, snow in winter
When your next birthday would fall if you lived as {name}
Repro interval
results
summer warm, winter not very cold
Colors
Sex
Upcoming jubilees
Gremllins
mo
conifer cones
Trophic type
all living animals without backbone
Filters
small fish
Upcoming birthdays
standing fresh waters — lakes, ponds, oxbow lakes
Breeding structure built or used for laying eggs and raising offspring.
Winter with snow
Truly long lives: 40-100 years. Bowhead whales, albatrosses, giant tortoises recall their birthday at most once a year
Lifespan
leaf
rains almost always, very humid
Age (juvenile)
Age (from birth to death)
cones of coniferous trees with seeds
Age (embryo)
Wanderers
Jubilee = every 10th birthday
Warm summer and frequent rains
Earliest developmental stage inside an egg or womb.
Business sausages
Lifespan average
Egg shell count
leaves
young after fast growth
Juvenile stage following larval metamorphosis but not yet adult.
summer warm, rains frequent
What do they look like?
Maturity
emergence (insects)
end of lifespan
Wings color
How do they live?
fertilization / egg laying
How do they behave?
birth / hatching
metamorphosis / end of larval stage
end of acceleration
Share
swampy freshwater biotopes — peat bogs, marshes, river mangroves
Find a pet...
Mature, fully developed individual capable of reproduction.
gleaning
digging
65 to 130 grams, 25 – 60 centimeters
Pets
Nearctic realm
Feeding occurs primarily on land or in vegetation.
Legs size
{name} jubilee
cm
Temperate coniferous forest
Old-timers
Find an animal or breed...
Wingspan
turns
Rascals
Flooded grasslands
insect
bird
Litter size
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
How to care for them?
With a long beak, it probes the mud and water in search of prey.
Living from 25 to 40 years. Orangutans, bald eagles, African elephants celebrate their birthday twice a year
°C
Not specified
Actively searching habitats to locate food items.
Where are they found?
all rivers and lakes
Down color
Locomotion through water employed while searching for or capturing prey.
Legendary longevity: over 100 years. Galapagos tortoises, Greenland sharks, ocean quahogs celebrate with family once every 4 years
Offspring
Elders
Bro
lakes and ponds
freshwater marsh and wetlands
Taxons
if born as {name}
Forages within or on the surface of soil or substrate.
omnivore
Wings count
age
birth date
swimming
Close
Egg shell color
was
Career from 7 to 15 months. Dwarf hamsters, voles, field crickets celebrate their birthday twice a month
The basics
Neotropical realm
My weight?
Non-stop carnival: they only live a few days. Mayflies, rotifers, midges celebrate their birthday more than twice a day
primary food sources
Neotropical realm
Potential Habitat
Very hot summer
d
In husbandry
On the go from 1.3 to 3.5 years. Forest mice, anoles, rainbow fish party on their birthday once a month
Feeding occurs in water bodies such as rivers, lakes, or oceans.
Punctures skin or tissue to extract fluids, blood, or soft tissue.
Mass
young shoots and leaves of plants
cold winter, lots of coniferous trees: spruce, pine
Mosquitoes, fruit flies, small crustaceans hustle for up to 7 months and throw a birthday party every week
terrestrial
Gestation
aquatic
summer very hot, above +25…+30 °C
{name} birthday
live annelid worms
Food is gathered directly from leaf surfaces.
Nearctic realm
soil
No results found
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
On the map
Pleasant summer
all life stages
Female ♀
Map data sources: Ecosystem classification — IUCN Global Ecosystem Typology (Keith et al., 2022), indicative distribution maps Keith et al. (2020), https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3546513; Large Marine Ecosystems — NOAA LME Program; Bathymetry — GEBCO Bathymetric Compilation Group (2026), GEBCO_2026 Grid, https://doi.org/10.5285/4f68d5c7-45eb-f999-e063-7086abc036fa; Climate data — Generated using Copernicus Climate Change Service information; Species occurrence data — GBIF.org, Derived dataset "all animals", https://zveriki.com/dataset/dataset.tsv; Terrestrial ecoregions — RESOLVE Ecoregions 2017 (Dinerstein et al., 2017), CC BY 4.0
Potential habitat modelled from GBIF occurrence data. Map © Zveriki.com, licensed under CC BY 4.0.
birth year
Maturity
terrestrial habitat, land surface outside water
sq mm
yr
comfortable summer, +20…+25 °C
How similar?
Male ♂
until the celebration
Inserts beak, snout, or tongue into substrate to locate buried or hidden food.
baby / chick
age as {name}
How do they breed?
On the go from 3.5 to 6 years. Hedgehogs, crows, lizards treat themselves to birthday snacks 6 times a year
Legs color
What if eaten?
spiders
Neither
from birth to adulthood
Young offspring still dependent on parental care.
nest
What do they eat?
Where do they live?
Immature individual that has not yet reached reproductive maturity.
Lots of rain and warm summer
from birth to death
much snow in winter, cold
Plumage color
water often floods the land, lots of grass
Freshwater
Temperate mixed forest
Duration
live insects
This is me
freshwater
Always very wet
Gamers
How are they built?
mm
Theoretical lifespan
ml
Stars
Link copied
My age?
wk
My size?
live spiders — arachnids of all sizes
terrestrial
Taiga
Asexual
swap
freshwater environment — rivers, lakes, ponds, swamps
Bill size
Rabbits, falcons, red-eared turtles hang out for 6-9 years and party on their birthday four times a year
Where do they take shelter?
Warm summer and lots of rain
celebrated their {n} birthday
When you would have been born if you lived as {name}
Daddies
Lifespan maximum
piercing
foraging
whole life
Hermaphrodite ⚥
North America and Greenland, from tundra to forests
embryo
Carrot
Hard, projecting mouthpart used to probe, pluck, or crack food.
summer warm, many oaks, birches, maples
Length
kg
lots of rain, warm and pleasant summer
Bill color
Observations
◉{N} more on tap