On the question of distribution and migrations of the Little Bittern. - D.N. Nankinov. - Berkut. 8 (1). 1999. P. 15-20.
The Little Bittern has a broken breeding range in Eurasia, Africa, Australia and New Zealand. Its number decreases in many European countries, many of the habitats of the species are destroyed, as a result of the drainage of marshes and the regulation of riversides. Seldom single individuals stay in the European countries during the winter. Only the Little Bitterns, breeding in Europe and West Asia, are typical and distant migrants. The Asian birds fly to south, probably to south-east, and the European ones - to south and south-west. A well distinguished pass is observed on Sinai's peninsula, Balkan peninsula, through Italy, South France and Spain, and also along the Atlantic coasts of Netherlands, Belgique and France. The Little Bitterns cross the Mediterranean Sea and the Sahara Desert and winter mainly in Tropical Africa. The migration over North Africa is from north to south in autumn, and vice versa in spring. It is possible some individuals to performed a circular migration, to reach their wintering areas through West Africa, to fly to north-east in spring. The opposite movement is also possible - to south-west towards West Africa in autumn, and strictly to north in spring. [Russian].
Key words: Little Bittern, Ixobrychus minutus, distribution, breeding range, migration.
Address: Dimitar N. Nankinov, Institut of Zoology, Boul. Tsar Osvoboditel 1, 1000 Sofia, Bulgaria.