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5

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

Oman: Family Group 5 Family Group 5 Table Great White Egret Intermediate Egret Cattle Egret Little Egret Western Reef Heron Purple Heron Grey Heron Striated Heron Squacco Heron Indian Pond Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Little Bittern African Sacred Ibis Glossy Ibis Eurasian Spoonbill White Stork Greater Flamingo Lesser Flamingo Thumbnails page Classification table Index of bird names Oman 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 Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . 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 New Guinea. There is also a large population in Australia. In Arabia Cattle Egrets, race "ibis", are found primarily in the border area of Kuwait, southern Iraq and south-western Iran and along the southern Red Sea coastline of western Saudi Arabia and Yemen. Some also spend the northern winters on the East coast of Arabia, e.g. in southern Oman, but they are also found along the North coast of Oman. If occasionally found inland, they may accompany camels (rather than only cattle). 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 Oman 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" We have found Cattle Egrets, race "coromandus" in Australia.

Photos

Race "ibis"

ADULT

Sex unknown

NON-BREEDING

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

Near-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 (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

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

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_jp_20200424.m4a	ibis (Portugal)	?	© JP
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

More (Eastern) Cattle Egret sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

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: We hereby acknowledge the original custodians of the land which is described on these pages, including the Gomeroi/Gamilaraay people of the North-west Slopes and Plains of NSW, and the traditional owners of other lands and nations within this country. We acknowledge elders past, present and emerging. Sovereignty was never ceded.          Last updated: Fri, 22 March 2019, 6:22 +00:00