Herons · Pelicans and herons
Western Cattle-Egret
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Bubulcus ibis
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Voice
Call
Call
Alarm
How to recognize it
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46–56 cm long, stocky, with a short neck
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Mostly white outside the breeding season, with a yellow bill and greyish-yellow legs
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Breeding adults with buff plumes on the crown, breast and back
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Often feeds beside grazing cattle, catching insects they disturb
About the species
Most of the year, its plumage is white, set off by a short yellow bill and yellowish legs. In breeding season, warm buff-orange feathers spread across the crown, breast and back, with longer feathers forming a tousled crest. Juveniles lack these colored plumes and have a black bill.
It walks through grass, often close behind cattle or other large grazing animals, picking off insects they disturb. It may also perch on their backs, though most of its food is caught on the ground. At breeding colonies, its quiet, throaty call sounds like "rick-rack"; elsewhere, it is largely silent.
Open grassy places—from pastures and farmland to wetlands—are its main feeding grounds, and it also uses grassy road verges. Grasshoppers, flies and other insects make up much of its diet, along with spiders, worms, frogs and small fish. Some populations stay year-round, while others migrate or disperse after breeding.
Where to find
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At the edge of a town in warm southern regions, where cattle graze, the Western Cattle-Egret walks beside them and catches insects disturbed by their movement.
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Along urban railway lines, watch for ground-level feeding — foraging in these urban settings has been recorded.
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In southern Europe from April to July, in wooded spots beside freshwater lakes or rivers, listen for quiet, throaty calls from a colony and look for nests in trees.
