: any of various small or medium-sized, short-necked, usually secretive herons (especially genera Botaurus and Ixobrychus)
: the bitter water solution of salts that remains after sodium chloride has crystallized out of a brine
Examples of bittern in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Cara Buckley, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024
Lafayette, Louisiana About a two-hour drive west of New Orleans, this city is the gateway to Cypress Island Preserve and Rip Van Winkle Gardens, both prime springtime habitats for bitterns, rails, and grebes.
—Alexandra Marvar, Travel + Leisure, 27 Aug. 2023
Single least bitterns at a Richmond marsh and in Cheshire, two worm-eating warbler on Mount Washington Road in Egremont, a hooded warbler at the Hopkins Memorial Forest, and 10 red crossbills at the October Mountain State Forest.
—Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 17 June 2023
Martha’s Vineyard: An American bittern in Aquinnah, a Philadelphia vireo near Daggetts Pond in West Tisbury, and five common ravens in Tisbury.
—Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 27 May 2023
An American bittern in Plympton and two sandhill cranes at Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area in Hanson.
—Grace Gilson, BostonGlobe.com, 16 July 2022
Likewise, the inclusion of local communities was key to the Australasian bittern, a type of bird, moving from endangered to vulnerable.
—Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 9 Dec. 2022
Over the past several centuries, New Zealand has become home to the Australian bittern, the white-faced heron, the welcome swallow.
—Boyce Upholt, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Sep. 2022
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Noun
Without golf balls whizzing overhead, the land has become habitat for migratory shorebirds, among them black-necked stilts, greater yellowlegs and sandpipers, and has even drawn the secretive American bittern.
—Cara Buckley, New York Times, 15 Feb. 2024
Lafayette, Louisiana About a two-hour drive west of New Orleans, this city is the gateway to Cypress Island Preserve and Rip Van Winkle Gardens, both prime springtime habitats for bitterns, rails, and grebes.
—Alexandra Marvar, Travel + Leisure, 27 Aug. 2023
Single least bitterns at a Richmond marsh and in Cheshire, two worm-eating warbler on Mount Washington Road in Egremont, a hooded warbler at the Hopkins Memorial Forest, and 10 red crossbills at the October Mountain State Forest.
—Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 17 June 2023
Martha’s Vineyard: An American bittern in Aquinnah, a Philadelphia vireo near Daggetts Pond in West Tisbury, and five common ravens in Tisbury.
—Isabela Rocha, BostonGlobe.com, 27 May 2023
An American bittern in Plympton and two sandhill cranes at Burrage Pond Wildlife Management Area in Hanson.
—Grace Gilson, BostonGlobe.com, 16 July 2022
Likewise, the inclusion of local communities was key to the Australasian bittern, a type of bird, moving from endangered to vulnerable.
—Andrea Thompson, Scientific American, 9 Dec. 2022
Over the past several centuries, New Zealand has become home to the Australian bittern, the white-faced heron, the welcome swallow.
—Boyce Upholt, Smithsonian Magazine, 12 Sep. 2022
Dictionary Entries Near bittern
Cite this Entry
“Bittern.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bittern. Accessed 18 Dec. 2024.
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