Cattle or Horses or Whatever Egret

Each week I’ll be featuring plants or animals found here at the Sittee River Wildlife Reserve; this week it’s the Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis).

Of course named after its tendency to always forage next to cattle, any large grazing animal that may disturb insects that this bird can catch, works too. Usually right next to the animal, sometimes they’ll even hitch a ride on the animals back to ensure a good lookout and first opportunity to grab whatever takes flight.

First described by Linnaeus in 1758 as a heron that looked like an ibis (the former scientific name Ardea ibis [heron + ibis]), it’s current generic epithet of Bubulcus derives from the Latin for “herdsman”, again referring to its association with grazers.

This individual was perched on the banks of the Sittee River, on the lookout not just for insects but also the occasional frog or lizard too