Appearance

Appearance

It is about 20–22 in (50–55 cm) long, with a compact body, short neck, and stout bill. Breeding adults develop rich orange-buff feathers over the head, neck, breast, and back; nonbreeding birds are mostly white.

Look-alikes

Western Cattle-EgretArdea ibis

In breeding plumage, the eastern bird has buff-orange across most of the head and neck, while the western bird usually shows more white on the neck. Outside breeding plumage, photographs often cannot separate them reliably.

Why they get mixed up · They were long treated as one species and look very similar when mostly white.

Where it lives

Typical habitats

• rice fields
• pastures and grasslands
• farmland near wetlands

Range

It lives from South and East Asia through Southeast Asia to Australia and New Zealand. In the United States, an eastern bird was documented on Agattu Island, Alaska, in 1988.

Preferred conditions

It spends more time on dry grass and farmland than most other white herons.

Behavior

Diet

It eats many grasshoppers and other insects, along with frogs, crayfish, and other small animals.

Activity

It walks quickly through fields and often follows cattle or tractors to catch prey they disturb.

Social life

It commonly feeds in small groups and nests in mixed heron colonies.

Life cycle

Nest

It nests in trees or bamboo in colonies, often alongside other herons and egrets.

Name and classification

About the name

It was formerly known as Bubulcus ibis coromandus; some ornithologists still treat it as a subspecies of Western Cattle-Egret.

Conservation

IUCN Red List

NENot Evaluated·Not yet assessed

Culture and stories

Culture and stories

• The name cattle-egret reflects its habit of following grazing animals.