African Openbill vs Little Bittern

Anastomus lamelligerus compared with Ixobrychus minutus

Key Differences

• African Openbill is Least Concern while Little Bittern is Endangered.

Taxonomic Classification

Rank	African Openbill	Little Bittern
Kingdom same	Animalia (Animals)	Animalia (Animals)
Phylum same	Chordata (Chordates)	Chordata (Chordates)
Class same	Aves (Birds)	Aves (Birds)
Order	Ciconiiformes (Ciconiiformes)	Pelecaniformes (Pelecaniformes)
Family	Ciconiidae	Ardeidae
Genus	Anastomus	Ixobrychus
Species	Anastomus lamelligerus	Ixobrychus minutus

Evolutionary Relationship

African Openbill and Little Bittern share a common ancestor at the Class level: Aves. (Birds)

Conservation Status

African Openbill

LC — Least Concern

Little Bittern

EN — Endangered

Physical Characteristics

Attribute	African Openbill	Little Bittern
Diet	—	—
Average Lifespan	—	—
Average Length	—	—
Average Weight	—	—

Habitat & Geographic Range

African Openbill

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Germany, and Norway.

Little Bittern

Habitat

Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Range

Distributed across Belgium, Denmark, Luxembourg, Norway, and Sweden. Currently classified as Endangered on the IUCN Red List, this species faces significant conservation challenges across its range.

African Openbill

The African Openbill (Anastomus lamelligerus) is a species in the genus Anastomus. It is currently classified as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. Typically found in various aerial, terrestrial, and aquatic environments.

Little Bittern

Little Bittern (Ixobrychus minutus) is classified as Endangered (EN) on the IUCN Red List. At high risk of extinction in the wild, with significant population decline and ongoing threats to survival.

Shared Countries

Both species can be found in 2 countries:

🇧🇪 Belgium 🇳🇴 Norway