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Bubulcus ibis

(Cattle Egret / Buff-Backed Heron)

Overview

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The cattle egret, also known as the buff-backed heron, is a white bird that ranges in length from 19 inches to 21 inches. They have a short, yellow bill. Their legs and feet are a light orange color. They have a medium-size length neck. When it is breeding season , the adult birds develop buff feathers on their heads , backs, and breasts. Their legs and bills also become brighter in color.

Common Names

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Click on the language to view common names.

Common Names in Afrikaans:

Veereier (Bosluisvoël)

Common Names in Dutch:

Koereiger

Common Names in English:

Buff-Backed Heron, Cattle Egret, Cattle Egret / Buff-Backed Heron, Cattle Heron

Common Names in Finnish:

Lehmähaikara

Common Names in French:

Hèron Garde-Boeufs, Héron Garde-Búufs, Héron Garde-Boeufs, Héron Gardeboeuf, Héron Gardeboeufs, Hron Garde-Boeufs

Common Names in German:

Kuhreiher

Common Names in Hebrew:

אנפית בקר

Common Names in Italian:

Airone Guardabuoi

Common Names in Russian:

Египетская цапля, Цапля египетская, Yegipetskaya Tsaplya

Common Names in Spanish:

Garcilla Bueyera, Garza Ganadera

Description

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Physical Description

Adult : Head : Crown: patches of buff-orange on white Face : Eye Color: yellow Facial Skin : yellow Bill: yellow Neck: white Length: short Nape: patches of buff-orange on white Width : thick Body: Back: patches of buff-orange on white Chest: white tinged with buff Legs : Foot Color: blackish Leg Color: yellow Leg Length: short.Adult Breeding Season : Head: Crown: pale cinnamon Face: Eye Color: yellow Facial Skin: yellow Bill: yellow Neck: white Length: short Nape: patches of buff-orange on white Width: thick Body: Back: pale cinnamon Breast: pale cinnamon Chest: white tinged with buff Legs: Foot Color: blackish Leg Color: yellow Leg Length: short.Breeding: Head: Crown: buffy plumes Face: Eye Color: yellow Facial Skin: reddish Bill: reddish Neck: white Length: short Nape: patches of buff-orange on white Width: thick Body: Back: buffy plumes Chest: buffy plumes Legs: Foot Color: reddish Leg Color: yellowish orange Leg Length: short.Immature: Face: Eye Color: yellow Facial Skin: yellow Bill: dull yellow Neck: white Length: short Width: thick Legs: Foot Color: blackish Leg Color: yellowish orange Leg Length: short.

Size/Age/Growth

About 19 to 21 inches long, with a wingspan of 36 to 38 inches. Adults weigh about 11.9 ounces .

Habitat

Typically found in the intertidal zone at the water's edge at a mean distance from sea level of 20 meters (67 feet).Standard Deviation = 628.050 based on 20,000 observations. Terrestrial altitude and ocean depth information for each observation from British Oceanographic Data Centre.

Ecology:
List of Habitats :4.6Grassland - Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded 14.2Artificial/Terrestrial - Pastureland

Biology

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Diet

The diet of cattle egrets consists of insects particularly grasshoppers and they avoid bumble bees, wasps, and yellow jackets. They expend less energy in catching their food by following cattle and farm machinery and catching the insects that are flushed. In aquatic habitats they eat frogs and fish. Captive egrets in zoos are given smelt, mealworms, and crickets to eat.

Reproduction



During the mating season the adult birds start to display their buff plumes upon their head , breast, and back. The male bird collects materials for a nest ; the female then creates the nest. The pair mate while on their nest. About 2-6 eggs are laid. The eggs are incubated for about 18-30 days. The mother gives an additional amount of male hormones to the first eggs that are laid. This supplement makes these chicks more aggressive. This may be the mothers way to give an extra push for the survival of the first born chicks. The first born chick may kill the younger ones when competing for food.

Migration

Migratory

Behavior

Cattle egrets live in colonies and are very sociable. Colonies can consist of several hundreds of birds living in one big tree . They also nest with other types of birds. Cattle egret travel daily to foraging areas singly or in flocks. The egrets follow cattle, wild or domesticated feeding on the insects that are disturbed by the cattle. These birds are very adaptable to the new environments.

Taxonomy

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Unambiguous Synonyms

  1. Bubulcus ibis (Linnaeus, 1758)

Notes

Name Status: Accepted Name . Latest taxonomic scrutiny: 17-Oct-2001.

Similar Species

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Snowy Egret, Little Blue Heron, Great Egret. Resembles the Snowy Egret, but has shorter, thicker neck and orangish bill and legs. (Snowy Egrets have have a slim black bill and long black legs with yellow feet. The area of the upper bill, in front of the eyes, is yellow but turns red during the breeding season, when the adults also gain recurved plumes on the back, making for a "shaggy" effect.)

Members of the genus Bubulcus

There are approximately 4 species in this genus:

B. ibis (Cattle Egret) · B. ibis coromanda · B. ibis coromandus · B. ibis ibis (Cattle Egret)

Bibliography

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More Info

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Notes

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Contributors

Data Sources

Accessed through GBIF Data Portal November 26, 2007:

Identifiers

Footnotes

Last Revised: 2009-01-01