Widespread resident; unrecorded in parts of NW and NE subcontinent. Small and stocky with short yellow bill and short darkle gs. Has orange-buff on head, neck and mantle in IJ"eeding plumage; base of bill and legs become reddish in breeding condition. All white in non-breeding plumage. Gregarious when feeding and roosting. Typically seen in flocks around domestic stock and also with Wild Buffalo, feeding on insects disturbed by the animals; often rides on the animals' backs, picking parasitic insects and flies from their hides. Also forages in flooded fields. Unlike other egrets feeds mainly on insects. Damp grassland, paddy-fields, grass banks of village tanks, canals and lakes; also rubbish dumps and forest clearings.
Colour
YellowOrangeBuff / TanWhite
Average size
50.5 cm
Habitat
Damp grassland, paddy-fields, grass banks of village tanks, canals and lakes, also rubbish dumps and forest clearings.
Behaviour
Widespread resident, unrecorded in parts of NW and NE subcontinent., Gregarious when feeding and roosting. Typically seen in flocks around domestic stock and also with Wild Buffalo, feeding on insects disturbed by the animals, often rides on the animals' backs, picking parasitic insects and flies from their hides. Also forages in flooded fields. Unlike other egrets feeds mainly on insects.
About this bird
Widespread resident; unrecorded in parts of NW and NE subcontinent. Small and stocky with short yellow bill and short darkle gs. Has orange-buff on head, neck and mantle in IJ"eeding plumage; base of bill and legs become reddish in breeding condition. All white in non-breeding plumage. Gregarious when feeding and roosting. Typically seen in flocks around domestic stock and also with Wild Buffalo, feeding on insects disturbed by the animals; often rides on the animals' backs, picking parasitic insects and flies from their hides. Also forages in flooded fields. Unlike other egrets feeds mainly on insects. Damp grassland, paddy-fields, grass banks of village tanks, canals and lakes; also rubbish dumps and forest clearings.
Compare size with other birds
Every bird sits between two neighbours — bigger than one, smaller than the other. The sentences below are generated live from the database.
