Cattle Egret

Description:

The Cattle Egret has a relatively short thick neck, sturdy bill, and a hunched posture. The non-breeding adult has mainly white plumage, a yellow bill and greyish-yellow legs. During the breeding season, adults of the nominate western subspecies develop orange-buff plumes on the back, breast and crown, and the bill, legs and irises become bright red for a brief period prior to pairing. The sexes are similar, but the male is marginally larger and has slightly longer breeding plumes than the female; juvenile birds lack coloured plumes and have a black bill.

Habitat:

Seen at Maharashtra National Park, Mumbai.

Notes:

The male displays in a tree in the colony, using a range of ritualised behaviours such as shaking a twig and sky-pointing (raising bill vertically upwards), and the pair forms over three or four days. The species is usually found with cattle and other large grazing and browsing animals, and catches small creatures disturbed by the mammals.