Birders hope to see more cattle egrets this May
The cattle egret is a little white heron with global ambitions. It is familiar throughout the tropics and spreading in temperate regions – the species ranges over more of the world than any other land bird, with the possible exception of the barn owl. It has even turned up on the remote South Orkney Islands, which – as the egret flies – are not that far from Antarctica. And now the cattle egret appears to be colonising England.
Cattle egrets have bred, or attempted to, in several English counties, often near the nests of little egrets or grey herons. For now, the breeding population is tiny, but birders hope to see more displaying birds this May and June. Cattle egrets look their best in breeding season, with long ‘nuptial plumes’ on their heads and backs and peachy tones in their snowy plumage. As their name suggests, they frequent herds of cows, feeding on insects and worms disturbed by the cattle.