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The Bitterns are distinguished by having the beak as long as, or rather longer than, the head, strong, higher than broad, the mandibles of equal length, the upper mandible slightly curved downwards. The nostrils are basal, linear, longitudinal, lodged in a furrow, and partly covered by a naked membrane. The legs are comparatively short and strong, the toes long and slender, all unequal, the middle toe as long as the tarsus; the hind toe on the level of the others; the claw of the middle toe serrated on its inner edge. The wings are long, rather rounded, the first three quills longest, and nearly equal. The back of the neck is bare of feathers, but the plumage of the sides, which is particularly long and lax, ordinarily meets across the back.

The Bitterns are spread over both hemispheres, but are not found in Australia; they are nocturnal birds, which love to skulk in the cover of reeds, and other aquatic herbage, through which their remarkably thin, compressed bodies enable them to run with great ease and celerity. Their voices are loud and hollow, sometimes harsh and piercing. The general colours of the plumage are yellow, merging into rufous, and black; the latter frequently taking the form of numerous spots or freckles; at other times the hues are disposed in broad masses, and the black is replaced by a deep sea-green, with metallic reflections.

The name of the Common Bittern (Botaurus stellaris, .), or, as it was formerly spelled,