Cattle Egret

Cattle Egret

Ardea ibis
Cattle Egret, Chris Knights

Introduction

This small white member of the heron family is a recent colonist which, as the name suggests, often associates with livestock.

Cattle Egrets were first reported to have bred in Britain in 2008, with two pairs nesting in Somerset; more breeding attempts have followed and there is now a slowly expanding population in southern Britain. The colonisation that is taking place is likely supported by climate change and Cattle Egret is one of a number of heron species newly added to our breeding avifauna.

Individuals are reported from a wider area during the winter months, with records from as far north as the Scottish mainland. As might be expected for a formerly southern species, south-west England and the south of Ireland do well for records of wintering birds.

Cattle Egret, Chris Knights

Key Stats

Status
Scarce
Scarce
Weight
Weight
350g
BTO Records
BTO Records
41k records
Population and distribution stats for:

Identification

Curated resources to aid in the identification of Cattle Egret

ID Videos

This section features BTO training videos headlining this species, or featuring it as a potential confusion species.

Cattle Egret

Songs and Calls

Listen to example recordings of the main vocalisations of Cattle Egret, provided by xeno-canto contributors.

Call:

Other:

Movement

Information about Cattle Egret movements and migration based on online bird portals (e.g. BirdTrack), Ringing schemes and tracking studies.

Britain & Ireland movement

View a summary of recoveries in the Online Ringing Report

European movements

EuroBirdPortal uses birdwatcher's records, such as those logged in BirdTrack to map the flows of birds as they arrive and depart Europe. See maps for this species here.

The Eurasian-African Migration Atlas shows movements of individual birds ringed or recovered in Europe. See maps for this species here.

Biology

Lifecycle and body size information for Cattle Egret, including statistics on nesting, eggs and lifespan based on BTO ringing and nest recording data.

Survival and Longevity

Survival is shown as the proportion of birds surviving from one year to the next and is derived from bird ringing data. It can also be used to estimate how long birds typically live.

Classification, names and codes

Taxonomy, names and species codes for Cattle Egret

Classification and Codes

  • Order: Pelecaniformes
  • Family: Ardeidae
  • Scientific name: Ardea ibis
  • Authority: Linnaeus, 1758
  • BTO 2-letter code: EC
  • BTO 5-letter code: CATEG
  • Euring code number: 1110

Alternate species names

  • Catalan: esplugabous
  • Czech: volavka rusohlavá
  • Danish: Kohejre
  • Dutch: Koereiger
  • Estonian: veisehaigur
  • Finnish: lehmähaikara
  • French: Héron garde-boeufs
  • German: Kuhreiher
  • Hungarian: pásztorgém
  • Icelandic: Kúhegri
  • Irish: Éigrit Eallaigh
  • Italian: Airone guardabuoi
  • Latvian: lopu garnis
  • Lithuanian: ibinis garnys
  • Norwegian: Kuhegre
  • Polish: czapla zlotawa
  • Portuguese: garça-vaqueira / carraceiro
  • Slovak: hltavka chochlatá
  • Slovenian: kravja caplja
  • Spanish: Garcilla bueyera
  • Swedish: kohäger
  • Welsh: Crëyr Gwartheg

Research

Interpretation and scientific publications about Cattle Egret from BTO scientists.

Causes of Change and Solutions

Causes of change

The colonisation of the UK has followed considerable range expansion to the north over the last 30 years, through France and also into The Netherlands (Keller et al. 2020). The causes of this range expansion are unclear but it is in line with similar recent range expansions by the Great White Egret and Spoonbill and the earlier colonisation of the UK by the Little Egret. Though speculative, it is possible that climate change has helped facilitate these range changes.

More Evidence

More evidence from Conservation Evidence.com

Partners

Birdfacts is based on data collected by volunteers participating in surveys that are organised and funded by BTO, RSPB, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, JNCC and other partners.
Find a Species

Search by common or scientific name

Or view the alphabetical list of UK bird species