A stuffed bird from Victorian times gathering dust in a museum stockroom is causing a flutter in learned circles as experts decide whether it can be confirmed as the first specimen of its type recorded in the UK.
Mike Ilett from the Herts bird club with the north Herts museum service specimen he identified as a Least Bittern
The Least Bittern – Ixobrychus exilis in Latin – is normally found in North America.
It breeds in reed beds and can be difficult to observe due to its shy and secretive nature – and until now has never been recorded in the UK.
All that could be about to change, but Mark Ilett – who chairs the Herts Rare Birds Panel and is co-author of Birds of Hertfordshire, isn’t getting his hopes up just yet.
The bird in question is part of the collection held at Hitchin Museum, and at the moment it’s held in storage while the heritage base transfers from its former home next to the town library to the revamped Hitchin Town Hall site, which is due to open its doors later this year.
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