Cattle Egret habitat
Behaviour Most populations of this species are partially migratory, making long-distance dispersive movements related to food resources in connection with seasonal rainfall (del Hoyo et al. 1992). Other populations (e.g. in north-east Asia and North America) are fully migratory (del Hoyo et al. 1992, Snow and Perrins 1998). The species breeds throughout the year in the tropics with different regional peaks (del Hoyo et al. 1992) depending on food availability (Kushlan and Hancock 2005). It breeds colonially, often with other species, in groups that number from a few dozen to several thousand pairs, even up to 10,000 pairs in Africa (del Hoyo et al. 1992). The nesting effort of the species is related to rainfall patterns, leading to an annual variation in productivity (Kushlan and Hancock 2005). Outside of the breeding season the species remains gregarious (Brown et al. 1982, del Hoyo et al. 1992), feeding in loose flocks of 10-20 individuals (Brown et al. 1982) and often gathering in flocks of hundreds or even thousands of individuals where food is abundant (del Hoyo et al. 1992). Nocturnal roosting sites in Africa commonly hold a few hundred to 2,000 individuals (Brown et al. 1982). The species is a diurnal feeder (del Hoyo et al. 1992) and commonly associates with native grazing mammals or domesticated livestock (Kushlan and Hancock 2005) and may follow farm machinery to capture disturbed prey (del Hoyo et al. 1992). Habitat The species inhabits open grassy areas such as meadows (del Hoyo et al. 1992), livestock pastures (Kushlan and Hancock 2005), semi-arid steppe (del Hoyo et al. 1992) and open savanna grassland subject to seasonal inundation (Kushlan and Hancock 2005), dry arable fields (del Hoyo et al. 1992), artificial grassland sites (e.g. lawns, parks, road margins and sports fields) (Kushlan and Hancock 2005), flood-plains (Hancock and Kushlan 1984), freshwater swamps, rice-fields, wet pastures (del Hoyo et al. 1992), shallow marshes (Kushlan and Hancock 2005), mangroves (Hancock and Kushlan 1984) and irrigated grasslands (with ponds, small impoundments, wells, canals, small rivers and streams) (Kushlan and Hancock 2005). It rarely occupies marine habitats or forested areas (del Hoyo et al. 1992) although in Australia it may enter woodlands and forests, and it shows a preference for freshwater (Marchant and Higgins 1990) although it may also use brackish or saline habitats (Kushlan and Hancock 2005). It occurs from sea-level up to c.1,500 m (Kushlan and Hancock 2005) or locally up to c.4,000 m (Peru) (del Hoyo et al. 1992). Diet Its diet consists primarily of insects such as locusts, grasshoppers (del Hoyo et al. 1992), beetles, adult and larval Lepidoptera, Hemiptera, dragonflies (Hancock and Kushlan 1984) and centipedes but worms (Brown et al. 1982), spiders (Hancock and Kushlan 1984), crustaceans, frogs, tadpoles, molluscs, fish, lizards, small birds, rodents and vegetable matter (e.g. palm-nut pulp) may also be taken (del Hoyo et al. 1992). Breeding site The nest is constructed of twigs and vegetation (Kushlan and Hancock 2005) and is positioned up to 20 m high in reedbeds (del Hoyo et al. 1992, Kushlan and Hancock 2005), marshes, mangroves, dense thickets (Kushlan and Hancock 2005), bushes or trees (del Hoyo et al. 1992, Kushlan and Hancock 2005), usually over or surrounded by water (Kushlan and Hancock 2005). The species nests colonially in single- or mixed-species groups with the nests placed close or touching (Snow and Perrins 1998). Management information The species can adversely affect the trees and bushes it uses for nesting, which may lead to the abandonment of the colony site if it is not managed (Kushlan and Hancock 2005).
