Cattle Egret by Peter Jones (2018081311) - Animal Behavior-ZOOL484-01 - USC

CATTLE EGRET

Peter Jones (2018081311)

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Cattle egret Bubulcus ibis [3] Domain: Eukaryota (Eukaryotes) Kingdom: Animalia (Animals) Phylum: Chordata (Chordates) Subphylum: Vertebrata (Vertebrates) Class: Aves (Birds) Order: Pelecaniformes (Pelicans, Ibises, Spoonbills, Herons, Shoebills, Hamerkops) Suborder: Ardei (Ibises, Spoonbills, Herons) Family: Ardeidae (Herons) Subfamily: Ardeinae (type subfamily) Genus: Bubulcus (monotypic) (Latin for "herdsman" or "cowherd") Species: Bubulcus ibis (Carl Linnaeus, 1758)

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Distribution [4]

• Originally native to parts of Asia, Africa and Europe, the cattle egret has undergone a rapid expansion in its distribution and successfully colonised the rest of the world, making it the widest distributed species of heron in the world. *The exceptions are Antarctica, the extreme norths of Africa and North America, most of Europe, Asia and Australia, the South American Andes and very few islands.

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• The cattle egret is also the most common species of heron in the Caribbean region and can be located in every Caribbean country, including the islands of Trinidad & Tobago.

Habitat Compared to other herons, the cattle egret is typically found in fields, farmlands, savannas, parks and dry grassy habitats, but they will inhabit rice fields, floodplains, marshes and mangrove swamps on occasion.

Physical appearance • Hunched and stocky posture.

Height: 46-56 cm (18.1-22 in)

• Large eyes with yellow irises; irises become bright red in both adult sexes during breeding season.

• Study, yellow beak, relatively short, thick neck and short, gray-yellow legs, feet and toes (ANISODACTYL) with black claws.

• Feathered plumage is usually white but during breeding season, both adult sexes develop orange-buff plumes (known as aigrettes) on the back, breast and crown and the beak and legs become bright red/orange.

270-512 g (9.5-18 oz)

• Sexes are similar, but the male is slightly larger and has slightly longer breeding plumes than the female.

• Juvenile birds AND CHICKS look similar to adults, except they’re smaller, don’t have coloUred plumes and their beaks and legs are black.

Wingspan: 88-96 cm (34.6-37.8 in)

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Physical appearance continued (mORE IMAGE CONTENT)

Population Characteristics & Parental Care Eggs incubated for 23 days by both parents until hatching.

(Eggs can predated upon by rats, crows, pelicans and birds of prey so both parents protect them.)

One to five blue-white eggs are laid in small stick nest.

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Chicks are hatched born partly covered with down and not able to fend for themselves

(Sibling rivalry for food from parents can sometimes lead to mur

Breeding season ranges with region and when egret reaches 2-3 years of age.

Males dispaly for females to form monogamous pairs and the pair eventually form a nest together.

(Chicks not fed enough calcium can get bone deficiencies).

(Still face dangers from synonymous predators, but parents still watch out for them.)

(Predators of adults include crested caracaras and eagles.)

Lifespan: 15 years in wild; 24+ years in captivity

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Fully independent, acquires adult appearance and joins colony at 45 days.

[8] Fully feathered, begin to leave the nest and climb around in 2 weeks

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Can regualate their temperature at 9–12 days

COLONY SIZE: From 20 or less to hundreds or thousands of individuals.

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Lifestyle Features Mating

Before mating begins, males first claim their territories. They then perform various displays such as a swaying movement from side to side with their plumes raised, stretching their necks out and making short flights while exaggerating their wing beats in order to attract the females. When a female has chosen a suitable mate, she suppresses his displaying by landing on his back.

After the pair has bonded, the female follows the male to another location where copulation takes place and where the nest will be built.

Migration/Dispersion/Sedentation

They are strongly migratory birds and have a tendency to disperse long distances. It is often challenging to distinguish between migration and dispersal as the birds tend to disperse very far. Young birds are known to disperse up to 5,000 km (3,000 mi) from their breeding area. In fact, cattle egrets first arrived in Trinidad in the 1950s and Tobago in the 1960s by dispersing from Africa. Currently, they've made a permanent year-round home on our islands.

Lifestyle Features Continued - Foraging Behaviour

The cattle egret has been seen to forage in small groups or by themselves in dry fields or farmlands or any other type of grazing areas, as well as bodies of shallow water. They are opportunistic carnivorous foragers and usually follow grazing animals or moving vehicles such as tractors in order to take advantage of prey being disturbed and flushed out of their habitats making it easier for the cattle egret to capture them. The most favoured prey include invertebrates such as earthworms, grasshoppers, moths, beetles, spiders and larger prey such as frogs, fishes, crayfish, lizards, small snakes and even nestling birds and bird eggs. When feeding, they walk at a steady pace followed by short forward darts then a swift stab. Small prey are swallowed immediately while larger prey is either pecked to death or beaten against the ground before swallowing.

Behavioural Interactions Cattle egrets are considered tertiary consumers, preying on both primary consumers (such as grasshoppers) and secondary consumers (such as frogs).

Cattle egrets and all other herons fly with their necks retracted, compared to storks, cranes or ibises who fly with their necks extended.

[10] Males show aggressive defensive behaviour during the breeding season by erecting their crest. A male will defend his territory until he finds a mate.

[11] Cattle egrets are usually found with cattle and other large grazing and browsing animals and catch small creatures disturbed by the mammals. They also ride on their backs to remove ticks from their skins and eat them.

Time Budget Table & Graph Activity

Time Spent (minutes)

Time Budget

Standing

138

1.09

Preening

26

5.77

Walking

115

1.3

Observing

83

1.81

Neck Moving

117

1.28

Feeding

35

4.28

Flying

12

12.5

Anthropogenic Threats & Risks

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Cattle egrets are sadly killed by humans for their meat which is considered a delicacy, as well as their aigrettes which are used is decorative clothing.

However, these practices are currently rare and the species' worldwide population is still going strong.

Natural Threats and Risks [14] [7]

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Cattle egret eggs and chicks are preyed upon by crows, pelicans, eagles and vervet monkeys. Tick infestation and viral infections also causes morality to them.

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Adults are also plagued by ticks and viruses. Adult cattle egrets have few natural predators; among them are caracaras, eagles and foxes.

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References [1] Nidiffer, Brandon. Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis. Photograph. eBird. June 22, 2022. https://cdn.download.ams.birds.cornell.edu/api/v1/asset/304971031/1800 [2] Dzurisin, Dan. Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) DDZ_0213. Photograph. flickr. June 22, 2022. https://live.staticflickr.com/7341/12040071194_f6aaae7abd_b.jpg

[3] Roslin, Alexander. Carl von Linné, 1707-1778, botanist, professor (Alexander Roslin) - Nationalmuseum - 15723. Painting. Wikipedia. June 22, 2022. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/41/Carl_von_Linn%C3%A9%2C_17071778%2C_botanist%2C_professor_%28Alexander_Roslin%29_-_Nationalmuseum_-_15723.tif/lossy-page1-800px-Carl_von_Linn%C3%A9%2C_17071778%2C_botanist%2C_professor_%28Alexander_Roslin%29_-_Nationalmuseum_-_15723.tif.jpg [4] Screenshot.. inaturalist. June 27, 2022. https://www.inaturalist.org/observations?place_id=any&subview=map&taxon_id=5017 [5] Gassah, Rejoice. Cattle Egret. Photograph. isafiri. July 1, 2022. https://isafiri.com/uploads/Cattle%20Egret%20Rejoice%20Gassah.jpg [6] Sharp, Millard H. Cattle Egret Chick At Nest. Photograph. fineartamerica. July 1, 2022. https://images.fineartamerica.com/images-medium-large5/cattle-egret-chick-at-nest-millard-h-sharp.jpg [7] Janthina, Judy. Photograph. janthinaimages. July 1, 2022https://janthinaimages.files.wordpress.com/2013/06/cattle-egret-chick-portrait_4662-2-wps.jpg? w=497&h=707 [8] HaYarkon, Park. Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis. Photograph. eBird. July 1, 2022. https://cdn.download.ams.birds.cornell.edu/api/v1/asset/70691061/1800 [9] Cattle Egrets. Photograph. birdsandgators. July 1, 2022. https://birdsandgators.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/5024egret.jpg

References Continued [10] Fleck, Susan. Cattle Egret. Photograph. susanfleck. July 5, 2022. https://susanfleck.com/birds/Birds_images_11/Egret_Cattle_5094471.jpg [11] All God's Critters. Photograph. pinterest. July 5, 2022. https://www.pinterest.com/pin/540924605223478721/ [12] ricsman. Have you eaten Egret before--"tastes like beef". Photograph. nairaland. July 7, 2022. https://www.nairaland.com/attachments/3643917_img20160426111548_jpeg9b410f9f44ed4b8c136b74c8756279c2

[13] Woman in a feather hat. Photograph. npr. July 7, 2022. https://media.npr.org/assets/img/2015/07/14/feather_hat_vert-2dc3fb6b0a16109624b0d42c5647dc4a2e76ace7 c85.webp [14] Dubrow, Nathan. Fish Crow Corvus ossifragus. Photograph. ebird. July 8, 2022. https://cdn.download.ams.birds.cornell.edu/api/v1/asset/302400101/1800 [15] Vickers, Dan. Brown Pelican (Atlantic) Pelecanus occidentalis carolinensis. Photograph. ebird. July 8, 2022. https://cdn.download.ams.birds.cornell.edu/api/v1/asset/304463771/1800 [16] Wiley, Chris. Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax. Photograph. ebird. July 8, 2022. https://cdn.download.ams.birds.cornell.edu/api/v1/asset/121658191/1800 [17] Shahan, Thomas. lion (Chlorocebus pygerythrus) in Gorongosa National Park, Mozambique. Photograph. Wikipedia. July 8, 2022. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/e/ea/Vervet_Monkey_%28Chlorocebus_pygerythrus%29.jpg/1024pxVervet_Monkey_%28Chlorocebus_pygerythrus%29.jpg [18] Vandermeulen, Joshua. Crested Caracara (Northern) Caracara plancus [cheriway Group]. Photograph. ebird. July 8, 2022. https://cdn.download.ams.birds.cornell.edu/api/v1/asset/70583361/1800

References Continued [19] Daley, Michael. White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster. Photograph. ebird. July 8, 2022. https://cdn.download.ams.birds.cornell.edu/api/v1/asset/121678781/1800 [20] Fox - British Wildlife Centre. Photograph. Wikipedia. July 8, 2022. https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/1/16/Fox__British_Wildlife_Centre_%2817429406401%29.jpg/1024px-Fox_-_British_Wildlife_Centre_%2817429406401%29.jpg Abdullah M., Khan Rashid A., Rafay M., Hussain T., Ruby T., Rehman F., Khalil S., Akhtar S. “Habitat Ecology and Breeding Performance of Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) in Faisalabad, Pakistan.” Pakistan Journal of Zoology, vol. 49, no.

5, 31 Oct. 2017, p. 1863. Gale Academic OneFile, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A518730941/AONE? u=caribuc&sid=bookmark-AONE&xid=3ebed4a7.

Carrasco L., Toquenaga Y., Mashiko M. “Balance between site fidelity and habitat preferences in colony site selection by herons and egrets.” Journal of Avian Biology. 2017;48(7):965. doi:10.1111/jav.01255 "Cattle Egret - Bubulcus ibis - NatureWorks." NatureWorks. July 1, 2022. https://nhpbs.org/natureworks/cattleegret.htm "Cattle egret - Wikipedia." Wikipedia. June 27, 2022. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cattle_egret Hosein, Melinda. "Bubulcus ibis (Cattle Egret) - UWI St. Augustine." UWI St. Augustine - The University of the West Indies, St. Augustine. June 22, 2022. https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/images/Bubulcus_ibis%20-%20Cattle%20Egret.pdf

References Continued Ivory, Alicia. "ADW: Bubulcus ibis: INFORMATION - Animal Diversity Web." Animal Diversity Web. June 27, 2022. https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Bubulcus_ibis/

PINTO, D. P. et al. Microhabitat use by three species of egret (Pelecaniformes, Ardeidae) in southern Brazil. Brazilian Journal of Biology, [s. l.], v. 73, n. 4, p. 791–796, 2 DOI 10.1590/S1519-69842013000400015. Disponível em: