Cattle Egret: Bubulcus ibis coromandus

Cattle Egret; Pingala or Pingalika (Sanskrit); Surakhiya (Hindi)
Bubulcus ibis coromandus

 

Cattle Egret: Bubulcus ibis coromandus;  Pingala or Pingalika (Sanskrit); Surakhiya (Hindi)

 

Breeding season plumage.

 

Status: Least Concern.

 

Both sexes are similar to look at: the male might be slightly larger with longer breeding plumes.

 

The Cattle Egret is a short, stocky egret, which in comparison with other egrets, has a thicker, shorter neck.

 

In meadows and areas where cattle is grazing, this egret can be seen foraging at their feet, picking up insects and grasshoppers disturbed by the grazing of cattle. Usually white in colour, with yellow bills and greyish-yellow limbs; however, during the breeding season they develop a beautiful golden, ochre-buff plumage on the crown, cheeks, neck, chest, back and tail area. Their bills, feet and irises turn reddish-ochre for the breeding period. Juveniles lack this brilliant plumage and have a black bill.

 

Cattle egret has lost the visual ability to correctly assess depth through water due to refraction of light, and therefore, prefer picking on insects on land instead of fishing in waters like their long-legged wading marsh cousins.

 

These birds are not noisy and in colonies, communicate with a quiet throaty "rick-rack" sound.

 

Widely distributed in India.

 

Photographed at Kapil Sarovar,  Sri Kolayat ji, Distt. Bikaner, Rajasthan, India on July, 2013

Camera used: Nikon D5100 DSLR with AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm VR Lens