A bittern is a long-legged water bird (Botaurus stellaris). It is similar to a heron but has shorter legs and a smaller body.
Bitterns live in marshes, where they can hide easily. Their brown-and-black feathers look like the plants around them. This camouflage makes them hard to see. Their long neck has soft feathers that make it look thick and heavy.
Bitterns are shy and usually live alone. In the mating season, they make a deep, strange-sounding call. They also twist their bodies in a special way while calling. Bitterns build their nests alone in grassy marshes.
Because of their secretive nature, people often think of bitterns as symbols of lonely or empty places.
There is some question about whether the bittern is actually mentioned in the Bible. The King James Version uses “bittern” in three verses (Isaiah 14:23; 34:11; Zephaniah 2:14). The Hebrew word’s meaning is uncertain, so translators sometimes choose very different animals.
Isaiah 14:23 and Zephaniah 2:14, the Revised Standard Version translates it “hedgehog.” In Isaiah 34:11, the Revised Standard Version has “porcupine.” The Hebrew word is similar to an Arabic word for “porcupine.”
Other scholars think the verses describe a bird, not a mammal. Zephaniah 2:14 says the creature will “roost atop her pillars” (that is, above Nineveh’s doorposts). This would better fit a bird.
Bitterns live in the swamps of the Tigris River, near the site of Nineveh. Their habits may fit these Bible references better than those of the hedgehog.