Cattle Egret

Bubulcus ibis

The Cattle Egret is a fairly small (50 cm) heron, white overall with a yellow bill, iris and  blackish legs.  In the breeding season the bill becomes brighter orangish-yellow, and it bears light rufous feathers on the neck and back.  It has a shorter bill and shorter legs than other egrets.

Cattle Egrets frequent open grassy areas, meadows, freshwater swamps and rice fields.   Their food consists mainly of insects such as grasshoppers and locusts, and also of crustaceans and frogs.  The Cattle Egret is one of the least aquatic herons, often spending long periods away from water.  It will follow cattle or tractors to pick up insects disturbed by their movement.  The Cattle Egret is highly gregarious, feeding and nesting in sometimes very large groups.  The nest is a platform of sticks placed in a bush, a tree or in a reedbed, and usually 2-5 eggs are laid.

In Taiwan the Cattle Egret is a common summer resident.

References:  Handbook of Birds of the World Vol. 1; A Field Guide to the Birds of China (Mackinnon and Phillipps); 100 Common Birds of Taiwan (Wild Bird Society of Taipei)