Eastern Cattle-Egret: how to recognise it
A bird of Asia and Oceania. Learn the marks that make it easy to identify, then practise with real photographs in Lore.
Practise with real photosAll species guides
Photo © Ben Tsai蔡維哲 · CC BY-NC · iNaturalist · all photo credits
- Scientific name
- Ardea coromanda
- Family
- Herons, Egrets, and Bitterns
- Size
- About 50 cm
- Habitat
- Pastures, wet fields and wetland edges
- Found in
- Asia and Oceania
The key marks
A small, stocky white egret with a short yellow bill. In breeding plumage the buff on the head spreads onto the cheeks and throat. Western Cattle-Egret has buff only on the crown, breast and back.
Voice
Mostly quiet; harsh croaks at the colony.
Good to know
It walks beside grazing cattle to catch insects that they stir up, and nests in colonies in trees.
Do not confuse with
Compare it with the Western Cattle-Egret. Look at the marks above one by one rather than the overall colour, and practise telling the two apart with real photos.
Where and when
You can expect to find it in pastures, wet fields and wetland edges. It is especially common in India and Nepal. Distribution changes with the seasons and from year to year, so check a recent local observation source before you go looking.