The American Bittern
is a wading bird of the heron

Heron

The herons are long-legged freshwater and coastal birds in the family Ardeidae. There are 64 recognised species in this family. Some are called "egrets" or "bitterns" instead of "heron"....

 family Ardeidae. New evidence has led the American Ornithologists' Union to move the heron family into the order Pelecaniformes (from Ciconiiformes).
It is a large, chunky, brown bird

Bird

Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...

, very similar to the Eurasian Great Bittern

Great Bittern

The Eurasian Bittern or Great Bittern is a wading bird of the heron family Ardeidae. It is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds applies.-Etymology:...

 (Botaurus stellaris), though slightly smaller. It is 58 – in length, with a 92 – wingspan and a body mass of 370–1072 g (0.815710370084047–2.4 lb).

Although common in much of its range, the American Bittern is usually well-hidden in bogs, marshes and wet meadows.