Species

Cattle egret

Ardea ibis

A small, stocky white heron that follows cattle and mowers for the insects they disturb.

Photo Unknown photographer (opens in a new tab) / iNaturalist, CC0 1.0 (opens in a new tab)

Adaptation

At a glance

Size: About 46 to 56 cm long
Weight: About 270 to 500 g
Habitat: Pastures, fields, roadsides and lawns
Diet: Grasshoppers, crickets, flies, frogs and lizards
In Georgia: Common in summer statewide; a few in winter on the coast
Voice: Croaks at colonies
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Small, stocky, white heron; short yellow bill; short neck; in breeding season buff-orange plumes on the head, back and breast
Told apart from: Snowy egret, which has a black bill and is slimmer
Told apart from: Great egret, which is much larger
Where to look: Pastures near cattle, and behind tractors and mowers

Behaviour

Cattle egrets walk beside grazing cattle and horses, catching insects flushed by their feet. They also follow tractors and mowers.

Why they matter

Cattle egrets crossed the Atlantic on their own from Africa to South America in the late 1800s and reached Florida by the 1940s. Their spread across the Americas is one of the most remarkable natural colonisations ever recorded. They eat many grasshoppers and flies in pastures.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A platform of sticks in trees or shrubs, in colonies
Eggs — Usually three or four
Incubation — About 22 to 26 days
Chicks — Fed by both parents
Flight — At about six weeks
Lifespan — Wild birds over fifteen years are recorded

Living around people

Colonies near homes can be noisy for a few months; they are protected and leave after nesting.

Misconceptions

Cattle egrets were brought here by people. They arrived on their own, crossing the Atlantic from Africa.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	A few on the coast	Few present	Arriving	Colonies forming	Nesting	Chicks	Young fledging	Flocks in pastures	Flocks	Leaving	Few present	Few present

Where it lives

Recorded in 58 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

If you found one

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