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Australian Wildlife

  Cattle Egret (Ardea ibis)





Cattle Egret | Ardea ibis photo
Cattle Egret

Image by Atamari - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Cattle Egret | Ardea ibis photo
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) at Florida Keys.

Image by Stig Nygaard - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)

Cattle Egret | Ardea ibis photo
Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) in breeding plumage - Australia

Image by DickDaniels (http://carolinabirds.org/) - Some rights reserved.    (view image details)







CATTLE EGRET FACTS

Description
The Cattle Egret is a small white egret with a yellow bill and grey legs. In the breeding season it develops a tan head, neck and breast, and reddish orange bill tipped with yellow. Juvenile birds are white with grey bill.

Other Names
Buff-backed Heron

Size
50cm

Habitat
grasslands, woodlands and wetlands, and is not common in arid areas. It also uses pastures. Often seen with cattle and other farm animals.

Food
grasshoppers, other invertebrates, frogs, lizards, small mammals

Breeding
shallow platform nests are made in wetland areas in trees and bushes

Range
much of eastern Australia from Tasmania to tropical Queensland. Also in northern parts of the northern Territory , and coastal Western Australia.

distribution map showing range of Ardea ibis in Australia

Credits:
Map is from Atlas of Living Australia website at https://biocache.ala.org.au licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 License.



Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Ciconiiformes
Family:Ardeidae
Genus:Ardea
Species:ibis
Common Name:Cattle Egret

Relatives in same Genus
  Great Egret (A. alba)
  Intermediate Egret (A. intermedia)
  Pacific Heron (A. pacifica)
  Pied Heron (A. picata)
  Great-billed Heron (A. sumatrana)