The American Bittern (Botaurus lentiginosus) breeds across the northern United States and much of Canada; it winters across a good portion of the s.e United States, Texas, Mexico, and along the Pacific Coast. The species is usually solitary in its hunting efforts and is known to sometimes "freeze" with its bill pointing upward to avoid discovery. In this position it often can appear to resemble the surrounding vegetation as some of the photos here will illustrate. Note especially the image on the bottom right where the bird really does look like part of the dry vegetation! All photos on this page were taken in March, 2001 at Anahuac N.W.R., Chambers Co., Texas with a Canon EOS 3 and EF 500 mm F4 L IS lens on Fuji Velvia pushed one stop. A 1.4X or a 2X extender were used depending upon the photo. The camera and lens were resting on a bean bag and window mount from a vehicle.