Western Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)

OTHER NAMES: Cattle Egret

Latin Etymology: Bubulcus ("cow-herd") ibis ("ibis")

Winter plumage adult Western Cattle Egret (subspecies B. i. ibis) at El Rocio, Spain - December 2011

Featured Subspecies: Bubulcus ibis ibis
Weight: 270-512g  /  Length: 51cm  /  Wingspan: 88-96cm
UK AMBER LIST / IUCN Red List: Least Concern

The Cattle Egret has in the span of this blogs existence gone from largely a vagrant to a regular wintering visitor, with a population of around 100 each year, and may well continue from there.  It can be differentiated from the little egret by the yellow bill and from the great white egret by the smaller size and stockier body.  In Spain it is far far more common, and can be found in wetland, or on fields with cattle or horses.  It is replaced in East Asia by the closely related Eastern Cattle Egret.

Related Species:
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Ardeidae
Genus: Bubulcus
Subspecies: B. i. ibis, B. i. coromandus, B. i. seychellarum

 - Sighting Locations -

UNITED KINGDOM - An increasingly regular Winter visitor and vagrant.

-- A flock of 9 present at Woodford, Northants in April 2022

SPAIN - Spanish -  Garcilla bueyera ("Oxen Egret")

Common to locally abundant resident in appropriate habitat.

 - SEVILLE 2011 TRIP: A number seen near Italica, around 10 seen in the vicinity of El Rocio
 - MADRID 2016 TRIP: Fairly common, seen in flight at various random locations, numerous near Arrocampo.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red List, RSPB, Wikipedia, Xeno-canto