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5

Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) German name(s): "Kuhreiher" Size: 48-53 cm; wing span 88-96 cm Weight: 270-510 g

Europe: Family Group 5 Family Group 5 Table Great Egret Little Egret Cattle Egret Grey Heron Purple Heron Squacco Heron Little Bittern Eurasian Spoonbill White Stork Black Stork Greater Flamingo Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names German birds home page

Similar species

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Cattle Egrets are the medium-size egrets. Their plumage is all-white during the non-breeding season. For the breeding season they grow long, orange-brown scapular and frontal plumes, which extend to the head too. The straight yellow bill is short and thick, with prominent feathers under the lower mandible reminiscent of a "beard". The irises are yellow; the legs and feet are greenish-grey.

Taxonomy, classification See Cattle Egret at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed based on sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to the ebird.org website. The global distribution of the Cattle Egret is available HERE . Having made the "jump" from Western Africa to South America in 1933, Cattle Egrets are now a global species. Nominate (western) race "ibis", which was initially found in Africa outside the Sahara desert, parts of the Arabian coastline (including the northern tip at the border between the UAE and Oman), and parts of the Mediterranean coastline, has now also colonized all of the Americas, up to the coastline of Ontario, but with the exception of the highest ranges of the Andes, the Rocky Mountains and the rest of Canada/Alaska. The eastern race "coromanda" is found all year round in Pakistan, India and continental South-east Asia, plus some of the South-east Asian islands. During the breeding season they extend their range to also include southern China, South Korea and southern Japan. Part of this population spends the northern winter in parts of Indonesia and southern Papua New Guinea. There is also a large population in Australia. In Europe Cattle Egrets, race "ibis", are permanent residents in parts of the western Mediterranean, from parts of Iberia via the Cote d'Azure to the Po river lowlands into parts of Italy, Sardinia and Sicily. From the southern Pyrenees a second population ranges along the Bay of Biscaye, with some found in inland France as well. There is also a breeding colony in a part of south-western Germany. Cattle Egrets are found in the shallows of various kinds of freshwater wetlands such as freshwater lakes and on grassland, often paddocks around cattle.

Sightings Click here for sighting information Race "ibis" We have not seen any Cattle Egrets, race "ibis", in Europe yet. The photos shown below were obtained in Egypt. All photographic information presented on this page has kindly been contributed by M. Eaton. Race "coromandus" Cattle Egrets, race "coromandus", have been found by us in Australia.

Photos

Race "ibis"

ADULT

NON-BREEDING

Near-frontal view of a Cattle Egret in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

Near-frontal view of a Cattle Egret in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

Lateral view of a Cattle Egret in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

Lateral view of a Cattle Egret in non-breeding plumage, here with its neck kinked (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)

Lateral view of a Cattle Egret in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

Near-dorsal view of a Cattle Egret in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

Race "coromandus"

Race "coromandus" is described in detail on our Australian page.

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

categrt_20171124_3.m4a	coromanda (NW NSW)	Warning calls	© MD
categrt_20171124_5.m4a	coromanda (NW NSW)	Squabbling	© MD
categrt_20171124.m4a	coromanda (NW NSW)	Squabbling	© MD
categrt_20171124_2.m4a	coromanda (NW NSW)	Various (breeding colony)	© MD
categrt_20171124_6.m4a	coromanda (NW NSW)	?	© MD
categrt_20171124_7.m4a	coromanda (NW NSW)	?	© MD

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site? If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.

Disclaimer: Comments are always welcome. We give no guarantee that the information presented on these pages is always correct or up-to-date. External links are marked as such and we take no responsibility for the contents of external pages. All images on this site are protected by copyright & used by permission of the respective owners. If you wish to reproduce them or any of the material presented on this web site, please contact us:          Last updated: Wed, 28 March 2018, 23:10 -05:00