Species: Bubulcus ibis

Cattle Egret
Species
    Kingdom
    Animalia
    Phylum
    Craniata
    Class

    Aves

    Order

    Ciconiiformes

    Family

    Ardeidae

    Genus

    Bubulcus

    Classification
    Other Global Common Names
    Garza Ganadera, Garcita Bueyera - Garça-Vaqueira - héron garde-boeufs
    Informal Taxonomy
    Animals, Vertebrates - Birds - Wading Birds
    Formal Taxonomy
    Animalia - Craniata - Aves - Ciconiiformes - Ardeidae - Bubulcus
    Migration
    true - true - true - Northern populations in North America are migratory; move north February to April or later, migrate south September into November. Extensive post-breeding dispersal in all compass directions July to early September in north (Palmer 1962).
    Non-migrant
    true
    Locally Migrant
    true
    Food Comments
    Eats mainly insects and amphibians, also reptiles and small rodents; usually feeds on dry or moist ground near cattle or horses, away from water (Terres 1980), sometimes near farm machinery.
    Reproduction Comments
    Clutch size is 2-6 (commonly 3-4). Incubation, by both sexes, lasts 21-24 days. Young can fly short distances at 40 days, reasonably well at 50 days. May breed at 1 year. Usually nests in colonies.
    Ecology Comments
    Often flies in large flocks in morning and evening.
    Length
    51
    Weight
    338
    NatureServe Global Status Rank
    G5
    Global Status Last Reviewed
    1996-11-20
    Global Status Last Changed
    1996-11-20
    Other Status

    LC - Least concern

    Conservation Status Map
    <img src="http://www.natureserve.org/explorer/servlet/GetMapGif?CA.BC=__&CA.MB=S1&CA.ON=__&CA.SK=__&US.AL=S5&US.AZ=S1&US.AR=S5&US.CA=SNR&US.CO=S4&US.CT=S1&US.DE=S1&US.FL=SNR&US.GA=S5&US.ID=S2&US.IL=S3&US.IN=__&US.IA=__&US.KS=S3&US.KY=S1&US.LA=S5&US.ME=S1&US.MD=S3&US.MA=S1&US.MI=__&US.MN=SNR&US.MS=S5&US.MO=SE&US.NN=__&US.NE=__&US.NV=S5&US.NH=__&US.NJ=S3&US.NM=S3&US.NY=S2&US.NC=S4&US.ND=S4&US.OH=S1&US.OK=SE&US.OR=SU&US.RI=S1&US.SC=SNR&US.SD=S4&US.TN=S2&US.TX=SE&US.UT=S4&US.VT=S1&US.VA=SE&US.WA=__&US.WV=SE" alt="Conservation Status Map" style="width: 475px; height: auto;" />
    Global Range
    H - >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles) - H - BREEDS: in Western Hemisphere locally from California, southern Idaho, Colorado, North Dakota, southern Saskatchewan, Minnesota, Wisconsin, southern Ontario, northern Ohio, and Maine south, primarily in coastal lowlands, through Middle America and West Indies to South America (northern Chile, northern Argentina, southeastern Brazil). Breeding range is expanding with deforestation in Central America. NORTHERN WINTER: throughout much of breeding range, north to the southern U.S. In the U.S., most abundant in winter in Florida, around the Salton Sea (California), on the coastal plains of southern Texas, and around the mouth of the Mississippi River in Louisiana (Root 1988). Introduced in Hawaii. Old World species that has spread from populations introduced in South America (NGS 1983); some have concluded that the species colonized South America on its own.
    Global Range Code
    H
    Global Range Description
    >2,500,000 square km (greater than 1,000,000 square miles)
    ELEMENT_GLOBAL.2.105970