What to Know About Cattle Egrets in Uganda?

The Cattle Egret in Uganda is one of the African Uganda Birds seen during Uganda Bird Watching Tours. A Cattle egret is a small diverse species of the heron family Ardeidae, order-Ciconiiformes, class of Aves and genus is bubulcus.

This stocky heron has a weight between 270-512g, length is about 18-22cm and its wingspan has between 35-38cm.

It is found in the tropics, sub tropics and warm temperature zones, usually found with grazing mammals.

In Uganda, the cattle egret can be found in many areas but particularly, it is very common in Murchison falls national park, along the grazing buffaloes, elephants or on the shares of river Nile.

How Does a Cattle Egret in Uganda Look Like

The cattle egret is a heron bird with relatively shorter-thick neck compared to other herons, very strong bill and a hooked posture.

In non-breeding season, the adult cattle egrets have whole white plumage, creamy or yellow bill and dark legs.

When the adults are breeding, they develop orange- yellowish-beige plumes. The bill of breeding cattle egret is orange, the plumes create patches on the back, breast and crest, while the legs become reddish yellow.

The juveniles are like non-breeding adults only that their dark bill turs yellow by their first fall.

How Does the Cattle Egret in Uganda Sing and Make Calls?

Cattle egrets are usually silent birds, but in their breeding colonies, they can give a quiet, throaty “rick-rack” call.

How Does the Cattle Egret in Uganda Feed

Cattle egrets feed on a diverse of prey, mainly insects like grasshoppers, flies, spiders, frogs, ticks, among others.

They rarely also forage along the banyan tree branches for ripe figs. They usually forge with cattle and other grazing or browsing animals to catch small creatures disturbed by mammals.

Cattle egrets usually defend their foraging area from other egrets but if it is seen infested by other egrets, they usually vacate the area for somewhere else.

Where they have choice, cattle egrets prefer foraging with mammals that do not move so faster or so slower.

They prefer a pace of at least 5-15 steps per minute. The cattle egret can also prey the eggs and chicks of other seas birds.

How Does the Cattle Egrets in Uganda Nest?

Cattle egrets nest in groups with other heron egret birds. after pair-bonding, the male brings the nesting materials, usually sticks and some grass, tree leaves to the female cattle egret, then the female builds the nests in the shrubs or tree around water bodies.

How Does the Cattle Egret in Uganda Breed?

Normally, cattle egrets breed at two years old.  Males conquer territories and start courtship displays, to attract females.

On rare cases, the male can have more than one female his colony. Their pair-bonds do not last for so long, they usually pair every breeding season and thereafter, they change mates.

How Does the Cattle Egret in Uganda Reproduce?

Female egrets lay between 3-4eggs, both parents incubate them for about 24 days. The chicks are fed by both parents by regurgitation.

Cattle egrets are very caring birds for their young ones and one of the parents almost spends all of its time attending chicks for the first 10 days after hatching.

At about 4weeks, the chicks start flying around the nest and fledging continues up to about 7 weeks when chicks are strong enough, and can fly long distances.