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| Wetlands & Waterfowl's Guide to North American Waterfowl: | |||
| Click to load: American Bittern American Widgeon Black- Crowned Night Heron Black Duck Blue-Winged Teal Canada Goose Canvasback Cattle Egret Common Egret Cinnamon Teal Gadwall Great Blue Heron Great Egret Green-Winged Teal Greater Scaup Lesser Scaup Mallard Mute Swan Northern Pintail Northern Shoveler Redhead Ring-Necked Snowy Egret Snow Goose Trumpeter Swan Wood Duck |
Cattle Egret Scroll down for details  Scientific Name: Bubulcus
ibis Habitat: marshes, swamps, fields, stock pens and airstrips. Appearance: 19-21" long. Small, stocky and mostly white. Short yellow bill; legs and feet pale orange. Breeding adults have buff-colored feathers on crown, back and breast Food: Insects, frogs and earthworms. Nesting: Nest is a cup of sticks and twigs 5-12 feet above ground or water. Female lays 2-6 pale blue or greenish eggs and both male and female incubate eggs for 22-26 days. Young are downy, leave the nest 4 weeks after hatching. Usually nests in colonies. |
Once limited to soutern Europe, Africa and Asia,
the Cattle Egret spread to the Americas in the late 1800's. The Cattle Egret follows
cattle or other livestock, and feeds on the insects that are stirred up by the animal's
hooves. Cattle Egrets are also found feeding in large, grassy areas such as around air
strips and along highways. Because they have few natural enemies and have little
competition for from other birds for food, the Cattle Egret has spread accross the United
States quickly, and has become a familliar figure on farmlands and grassy wetlands alike. |
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