The Cattle Egret is a small egret originally from Eurasia/Africa but now colonised worldwide.
Although it nests near water, classed as a "wader" and will eat fish/crustaceans, it is more usually associated with cattle and other large livestock
(hence its common English and scientific names) and eats insects disturbed by them or on them such as ticks.
The Cattle Egret's non-breeding plumage is white, its bill yellow and legs grey/yellow;
breeding plumage has a red pink blush on head, face and throat, with red beak, legs and, sometimes, irises.
Male and female have similar plumage (juvenile has black bill).
Non-breeding all white plumage (sometimes dark grey legs).
Black legs.
A food morsel.
A gregarious bird which roosts in colonies in trees.
Nesting (and the crest and red bill).
Stop press: Since writing this page, the "Asian subspecies" has been split out by some authorities
and called the Eastern Cattle Egret, B. coromandus (and
B. ibis called the Western Cattle Egret). Eastern birds moved to new page (see link below).
Pink breeding plumage.
Non-breeding all white plumage
with black legs.