Period 2 element two make up all natural occurrence of lithium on Earth, although further isotopes have been synthesized. In ionic compounds, lithium loses an electron to become positively charged, forming the cation Li. Lithium is the first alkali metal in the periodic table, and the first metal of any kind in the periodic table. At standard temperature and pressure, lithium is a soft, silver-white, highly reactive metal. With a density of 0.564 g·cm, lithium is the lightest metal and the least dense solid element. Lithium is one of the few elements synthesized in the Big Bang, making it a primordial element. Lithium
Least bittern Least bittern The least bittern ("Ixobrychus exilis") is a small heron, the smallest member of the family Ardeidae found in the Americas. The least bittern is one of the smallest herons in the world, with perhaps only the dwarf bittern and the black-backed bittern averaging smaller in length. It can measure from in length, and the wingspan ranges from . Body mass is from , with most least bitterns weighing between , making this perhaps the lightest of all herons. A recent manual of avian body masses cites another species in this genus, the stripe-backed bittern, as having a mean