Data Zone
Taxonomic note
Ixobrychus minutus and I. dubius (del Hoyo and Collar 2014) were previously lumped as I. minutus following Sibley and Monroe (1990, 1993).
Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.
| Critically Endangered | Endangered | Vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| - | - | - |
| Year | Category | Criteria |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Least Concern | |
| 2016 | Least Concern | |
| 2014 | Least Concern | |
| 2012 | Not Recognised | |
| 2010 | Not Recognised | |
| 2009 | Not Recognised | |
| 2008 | Not Recognised | |
| 2004 | Not Recognised | |
| 2000 | Not Recognised | |
| 1994 | Not Recognised | |
| 1988 | Not Recognised |
| Migratory status | full migrant | Forest dependency | low |
| Land-mass type | Average mass | 118 g |
| Estimate | Data quality | |
|---|---|---|
| Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident) | 68,400,000 km2 | medium |
| Extent of Occurrence (non-breeding) | 33,500,000 km2 | medium |
| Severely fragmented? | no | - |
| Estimate | Data quality | Derivation | Year of estimate | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population size | 600000-1199999 mature individuals | poor | estimated | 2012 |
| Population trend | decreasing | - | suspected | - |
| Generation length | 4.1 years | - | - | - |
Population justification: The global population size has not been estimated owing to recent taxonomic splits. The European population is estimated at 63,100-111,000 pairs, which equates to 126,000-222,000 mature individuals (BirdLife International 2015). Europe forms approximately 20% of the global range so a very preliminary estimate of the global population would be 630,000-1,110,000 mature individuals although further validation of this estimate is needed. The population is therefore placed in the band 600,000-1,199,999 mature individuals.
Trend justification: The overall population trend is decreasing, although some populations have unknown trends (Wetlands International 2015). The European population is estimated to be stable (BirdLife International 2015).
| Country/Territory | Presence | Origin | Resident | Breeding visitor | Non-breeding visitor | Passage migrant |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afghanistan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Albania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Algeria | extant | native | ||||
| Angola | extant | native | ||||
| Armenia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Austria | extant | native | yes | |||
| Azerbaijan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Bahrain | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Bangladesh | extant | native | ||||
| Barbados | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Belarus | extant | native | yes | |||
| Belgium | extant | native | yes | |||
| Benin | extant | native | ||||
| Bosnia and Herzegovina | extant | native | yes | |||
| Botswana | extant | native | ||||
| Bulgaria | extant | native | yes | |||
| Burkina Faso | extant | native | ||||
| Burundi | extant | native | ||||
| Cameroon | extant | native | ||||
| Cape Verde | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Central African Republic | extant | native | ||||
| Chad | extant | native | ||||
| China (mainland) | extant | native | ||||
| Congo | extant | native | ||||
| Congo, The Democratic Republic of the | extant | native | ||||
| Côte d'Ivoire | extant | native | ||||
| Croatia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Cyprus | extant | native | yes | |||
| Czechia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Denmark | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Egypt | extant | native | ||||
| Equatorial Guinea | extant | native | ||||
| Eritrea | extant | native | ||||
| Estonia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Eswatini | extant | native | ||||
| Ethiopia | extant | native | ||||
| Faroe Islands (to Denmark) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| France | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Gabon | extant | native | ||||
| Gambia | extant | native | ||||
| Georgia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Germany | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Ghana | extant | native | ||||
| Gibraltar (to UK) | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Greece | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Guinea | extant | native | ||||
| Guinea-Bissau | extant | native | ||||
| Hungary | extant | native | yes | |||
| Iceland | extant | vagrant | ||||
| India | extant | native | ||||
| Iran, Islamic Republic of | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Iraq | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Ireland | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Israel | extant | native | yes | |||
| Italy | extant | native | yes | |||
| Jordan | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Kazakhstan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Kenya | extant | native | ||||
| Kuwait | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Kyrgyzstan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Latvia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Lebanon | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Lesotho | extant | native | ||||
| Liberia | extant | native | ||||
| Libya | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Liechtenstein | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Lithuania | extant | native | yes | |||
| Luxembourg | extant | native | yes | |||
| Madagascar | extant | native | ||||
| Malawi | extant | native | ||||
| Mali | extant | native | ||||
| Malta | extant | native | yes | |||
| Mauritania | extant | native | ||||
| Moldova | extant | native | yes | |||
| Mongolia | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Montenegro | extant | native | yes | |||
| Morocco | extant | native | ||||
| Mozambique | extant | native | ||||
| Namibia | extant | native | ||||
| Netherlands | extant | native | yes | |||
| Niger | extant | native | ||||
| Nigeria | extant | native | ||||
| North Macedonia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Norway | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Oman | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Pakistan | extant | native | ||||
| Palestine | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Poland | extant | native | yes | |||
| Portugal | extant | native | yes | |||
| Qatar | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Romania | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Russia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia (Central Asian) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Russia (European) | extant | native | yes | |||
| Rwanda | extant | native | ||||
| São Tomé e Príncipe | extant | vagrant | ||||
| Saudi Arabia | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Senegal | extant | native | ||||
| Serbia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Sierra Leone | extant | native | ||||
| Slovakia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Slovenia | extant | native | yes | |||
| Somalia | extant | native | ||||
| South Africa | extant | native | ||||
| South Sudan | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Spain | extant | native | yes | |||
| Sudan | extant | native | ||||
| Sweden | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Switzerland | extant | native | yes | |||
| Syria | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| Tajikistan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Tanzania | extant | native | ||||
| Togo | extant | native | ||||
| Tunisia | extant | native | ||||
| Türkiye | extant | native | yes | |||
| Turkmenistan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Uganda | extant | native | ||||
| Ukraine | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| United Arab Emirates | extant | native | yes | yes | ||
| United Kingdom | extant | vagrant | yes | |||
| Uzbekistan | extant | native | yes | |||
| Yemen | extant | native | yes | |||
| Zambia | extant | native | ||||
| Zimbabwe | extant | native |
| Habitat (level 1) | Habitat (level 2) | Importance | Occurrence |
|---|---|---|---|
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Seasonally Flooded Agricultural Land | suitable | breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Seasonally Flooded Agricultural Land | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Water Storage Areas (over 8ha) | suitable | breeding |
| Artificial/Aquatic & Marine | Artificial/Aquatic - Water Storage Areas (over 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Artificial/Terrestrial | Arable Land | suitable | non-breeding |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level | suitable | breeding |
| Forest | Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level | suitable | non-breeding |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded | suitable | breeding |
| Grassland | Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Freshwater Marshes/Pools (under 8ha) | suitable | non-breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Inland Deltas | suitable | breeding |
| Wetlands (inland) | Permanent Inland Deltas | suitable | non-breeding |
| Altitude | 0 - 1800 m | Occasional altitudinal limits |
| Purpose | Scale |
|---|---|
| Pets/display animals, horticulture | international |
| Sport hunting/specimen collecting | subsistence, national |
Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Common Little Bittern Ixobrychus minutus. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/common-little-bittern-ixobrychus-minutus on 27/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from
https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 27/11/2024.