THE CATTLE RIDER – Bubulcus ibis (Linnaeus, 1758) – Cattle Egret

Bubulcus ibis in green vegetation

A hunch-back posture is a typical view for the medium sized bird, the CATTLE EGRET Bubulcus ibis. Even in their standing position they have a ‘hunched effect’. This medium sized bird inhabits almost all known open grassy areas like livestock pastures, semi-arid steppe, open savannah, artificial grasslands, dry arable fields, flood-plains, freshwater swamps, rice-fields, wet fields, wet pastures, shallow marshes, mangroves, irrigated grasslands (del Hoyoto et al. 1992 and Kushlan & Hancock, 2005) and in coastal areas.

Cattle egrets, sometimes referred as yellow necked cattle egret is a well adapted heron adapting to both terrestrial and aquatic habitats. Sightings are common in urban areas of India and are occasionally found foraging on garbage. They can be called as cattle riders purely because of their affinity to sit on the back of grazing cattle. There is a great feeding relationship between the two. When the cattle is grazing on green vegetation, insects like grasshoppers, locusts, beetles, butterflies, dragonflies, spiders, frogs, small crabs, molluscs, fish, lizards, rodents and any available vegetable matter are fed upon the cattle egrets.

The cattle egret Bubulcus ibis on a foraging hunt along the coast!

The size of cattle egrets range between 45 – 56 cm and the average wing span is about 88 – 97 cm. The thick neck probably is one reason for the ‘hunch back effect’ plus the feet are relatively short when compared to other egrets. Plumage of adults is pure white with a dull orange/ yellow bill and dull orange legs. The head region becomes buffy while the beaks turn red especially during the breeding seasons. Sometimes they are also referred as Buff-back Heron because of the new attire.

The breeding pairs of cattle egret construct their nests with twigs and available vegetation up to a height of 20 m. They prefer to nest in places that are closer to water bodies. Territorial fights are very common among the cattle egrets during breeding seasons. Cattle egrets do not mind close nesting by other wading birds. Light blue eggs are laid after copulation and this becomes lighter in colour as days pass by. After 24 days, eggs hatch out. The cattle rider cannot be missed when you are close to a water body or near beaches!

Taxonomic position

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Chordata

Subphylum: Vertebrata

Superclass: Gnathostomata ?

Superclass: Tetrpoda ?

Class: Aves

Order: Ciconiformes

Family: Ardeidae

Genus: Bubulcus

Species: B. ibis

Author: (Linnaeus, 1758)

IUCN Status

Least Concern

References

del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A.; Sargatal, J. 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

Kushlan, J. A.; Hancock, J. A. 2005. The herons. Oxford University Press, Oxford, U.K.

 © Deepak Samuel – November, 2013