That’ll be a Cattle Egret

There were no cattle egrets in Australia until the cattle arrived. The cattle egret (Ardea ibis) was native to Africa 150 years ago where it wandered behind elephants and other herbivores. Then it started to turn up in other places – Spain, Southeast Asia, the Caribbean in the late 1800s. In 1940 it appeared in Florida and Texas, and then it arrived in Australia as well. It is a “natural introduction” – nobody brought it here. The first Victorian record is near Lake Colac in 1949.

As the name implies, cattle egrets like to hang around cattle. You see them in the paddocks  in conjunction with flocks of domestic cattle where it feeds on small invertebrates, worms, frogs and lizards stirred up by the feet of the moving cattle. It is also not unusual to see the bird on the backs of cattle taking ticks and flies from the hide.

In late Spring the male transforms into its golden-headed form which is quite a striking contrast.

While our other Australian egrets – called rather unimaginatively Great, Intermediate and Little – are not faring so well and are possibly in decline, the Cattle Egret is thriving. We provide them with cows and green grass and that’s all they require.