Free Teacher Resources
A white cattle egret with buff-orange breeding feathers on its head perched on a branch.
Photo: Pedro Lastra, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons

Cattle Egret

Bubulcus ibis

A small white heron that follows grazing animals to catch the insects they stir up, and has spread from Africa around the world.

🪿 Wading Birds
Checking teacher reviews…
Teacher? Sign in to review this page →Report a mistake

About the Cattle Egret

Cattle egrets follow grazing animals like cattle and catch the grasshoppers, crickets, flies and other small animals they disturb. By staying near cattle, an egret can get up to 50 percent more food while using only two-thirds as much energy. In breeding season, cattle egrets grow buff-colored feathers on the head, neck and back, and their eyes, legs and bill turn red.[1]

Quick facts

Scientific name
Bubulcus ibis[1]
Size
46 to 56 cm (18 to 22 inches) long, with a wingspan of 88 to 96 cm.[1]
Weight
About 220 g (8 ounces).[1]
Lifespan
Up to 23 years in the wild.[1]
Diet
Insects such as grasshoppers, crickets and flies, plus spiders, frogs and moths.[1]
Habitat
Pastures and fields, often away from water.[1]
Where it lives
Originally Africa and southern Spain. Now also North and South America, Europe, Asia and Australia.[1]
Group life
Nests in large colonies with other wading birds.[1]
Babies
Usually 3 or 4 eggs, incubated for about 24 days.[1]
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN Red List, assessed 2016).[2]

Fun facts

  • Following cattle lets an egret catch up to 50 percent more food with only two-thirds the effort.[1]
  • Cattle egrets now outnumber all other North American egrets and herons combined.[1]
  • Some people call it the elephant bird or rhinoceros egret, after the animals it follows.[1]

Vocabulary

egret
A kind of heron, usually with white feathers.
heron
A long-legged, long-necked bird that usually hunts in water.
pasture
A grassy field where farm animals graze.
breeding plumage
Special feathers some birds grow during mating season.
colony
A large group of animals of one kind that live or nest close together.

See it in person

Sources

  1. [1] Animal Diversity Web, University of Michigan Museum of Zoology. “Bubulcus ibis (cattle egret).” https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Bubulcus_ibis/ (accessed 2026-10-02)
  2. [2] IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. “Bubulcus ibis (Cattle Egret).” https://www.iucnredlist.org/species/22697109/155477521 (accessed 2026-10-02)

Facts last checked 2026-10-02.

More Wading Birds

A pink American flamingo standing in dark blue water.American FlamingoPhoenicopterus ruberThe brightest-colored flamingo, also called the Caribbean flamingo, that filter-feeds with its bill upside down.A blue-gray blue crane with long trailing wing feathers walking on rocky ground.Blue CraneAnthropoides paradiseusThe national bird of South Africa, a blue-gray crane of grasslands famous for courtship dances that can last for hours.A pink Chilean flamingo wading and feeding in shallow water.Chilean FlamingoPhoenicopterus chilensisA pink flamingo of the high, cold salt flats of the southern Andes that feeds with its head upside down.A grey crowned crane with a golden crown of feathers walking in grass.Grey Crowned CraneBalearica regulorum (East African crowned crane: B. r. gibbericeps)An endangered African crane with a crown of stiff golden feathers, shown on the flag of Uganda. Also called the East African crowned crane.A brown hamerkop with a hammer-shaped head perched on a dead tree stump.HamerkopScopus umbrettaA brown African wading bird with a hammer-shaped head that builds the biggest nest of any bird in Africa.A marabou stork with a bald pinkish head, a hanging throat pouch and dark wings standing on grass.Marabou StorkLeptoptilos crumeniferA huge, bald-headed African stork that feeds mostly on dead animals and often gathers near lakes, rivers, garbage dumps and fishing villages.A bright red scarlet ibis with a long curved bill standing on a log.Scarlet IbisEudocimus ruberA bright red wading bird of northern South America that feeds mostly on crayfish and small crabs.A tall wattled crane with a white neck and gray wings standing on grass.Wattled CraneBugeranus carunculatusA tall African wetland crane with flaps of skin hanging from its chin that shrink when it's nervous and lengthen when it's excited.A white stork with black wing feathers and a red bill walking in grass.White StorkCiconia ciconiaA big white-and-black bird with a red bill that breeds in Europe, winters in Africa and inspired the story of storks delivering babies.