Bubulcus ibis
Silhouette: Giles Laurent · PhyloPic
In 3 days <5%
The western cattle egret (Ardea ibis) is a species of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. Formerly, most taxonomic authorities lumped this species and the eastern cattle egret together (called the cattle egret), but the two cattle egrets are now treated as separate species. Despite the similarities in plumage to the egrets of the genus Egretta, it is more closely related to the herons of Ardea. Originally native to parts of Africa, southwest Asia and southern Europe, it has undergone a rapid expansion in its distribution and successfully colonised much of the New World in the last century.
It is a white bird adorned with buff plumes in the breeding season. It nests in colonies, usually near bodies of water and often with other wading birds. The nest is a platform of sticks in trees or shrubs. Western cattle egrets exploit drier and open habitats more than other heron species. Their feeding habitats include seasonally inundated grasslands, pastures, farmlands, wetlands and rice paddies. They often accompany cattle or other large mammals, catching insect and small vertebrate prey disturbed by these animals. Some populations of the cattle egret are migratory and others show post-breeding dispersal.
The adult cattle egret has few predators, but birds or mammals may raid its nests, and chicks may be lost to starvation, calcium deficiency or disturbance from other large birds. This species maintains a special relationship with cattle, which extends to other large grazing mammals; wider human farming is believed to be a major cause of their suddenly expanded range. The cattle egret removes ticks and flies from cattle and consumes them. This benefits both species, but it has been implicated in the spread of tick-borne animal diseases. Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Brazzaville | 🇨🇬 Republic of the Congo | |
| 2 | Rabat | 🇲🇦 Morocco | |
| 3 | Accra | 🇬🇭 Ghana | |
| 4 | Antananarivo | 🇲🇬 Madagascar | |
| 5 | Casablanca | 🇲🇦 Morocco | |
| 6 | Cairo | 🇪🇬 Egypt | |
| 7 | Abidjan | 🇨🇮 Côte d'Ivoire | |
| 8 | Fez | 🇲🇦 Morocco | |
| 9 | Abuja | 🇳🇬 Nigeria | |
| 10 | Luxor | 🇪🇬 Egypt |
| # | Zoo / Centre | Country | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Flint RiverQuarium | 🇺🇸 United States |
Rare
Under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Cattle Egret sighting in Paris on a given day, based on 13 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data. It is the 125th most-seen of the 139 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to under 5%, if each day is a fresh chance.
Any time of year
In every month with enough records, under 5% of wildlife watchers report a Cattle Egret in Paris on a given day, so our monthly data shows no clear season.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Cattle Egret sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
127th of 135
Of the 135 cities where we can rate Cattle Egret sightings, Paris ranks 127th at under 5%. The best odds are in Brazzaville (Republic of the Congo, about 90%), Rabat (Morocco, about 80%) and Accra (Ghana, about 80%).
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Cattle Egret is recorded against all the birds logged in Paris (13 verified sightings), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
