The cattle egret is a beautiful white medium sized bird. It is 20 in. (50cm) tall. It looks like it is hunched over, even when it is standing up straight. During the breeding or mating season the cattle egret, like any other kind of egret, has buff plumes on its head, back, and breast.

    Cattle egrets build bulky nests of sticks. They will nest anywhere in Central America, North America or South America, and  sometimes they are  found in Africa, or Australia. They were originally native to Europe, Africa, and Asia, but then they spread from the West Indies to North America. They live along the coast.They will mate and lay eggs in fields, forests, marshes, and on the edge of lakes.

    All egret, including cattle, snowy and common egret, eat mostly the same thing. They eat larvae, grass grubs, all different kinds of insects that live with them, frogs, and crickets. They don’t eat bumble bees, yellow jackets, or wasps. In the zoo, the egrets eat crickets, mealworms, and smelt. During the summer time when flies fly around their eyes it bothers them.

      The cattle egret’s reproduction is very unusual. For egrets to have babies there must be a temporary group of one male and two females. After they mate the male stays with one of the females and the other female leaves. After the eggs are laid the female will become the mother of 2-4 babies. The incubation period is 18-30 days. The babies are very cute! At 45 days, the babies are independent, at 50 days they are able to make short flights, and at around 60days they are able to fly free.

            

http://www.uksafari.com/cattleegret.htm
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/bubulcus/b._ibis$narrative.html
http://www.stockpix.com/ce.htm
http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/5960/categret.html
http://bibliofile.mc.duke.edu/gww/Berenty/Birds/Bubulcus-ibis/
                                                                                                                                  By Niah
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