email a friend
printable version
LC
Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis

IUCN Red List history

Year Category
2012 Least Concern
2009 Least Concern
2008 Least Concern
2004 Least Concern
2000 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994 Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988 Lower Risk/Least Concern

Species attributes

Migratory status full migrant Forest dependency Low
Land mass type   Average mass -

Distribution

  Estimate Data quality
Extent of Occurrence breeding/resident (km2) 55,400,000 medium
Extent of Occurrence non-breeding (km2) 55,400,000 medium
Number of locations -
Fragmentation -

Population & trend

  Estimate Data quality Derivation Year of estimate
No. of mature individuals poor Estimated 2009
Population trend Increasing -
Number of subpopulations - - -
Largest subpopulation - - -
Generation length (yrs) 8.1 - - -
Population justification: The population is estimated to number 3,800,000-7,600,000 individuals.
Trend justification: The overall population trend is increasing, although some populations may be stable or decreasing and others have unknown trends (Wetlands International 2006). This species has undergone a small or statistically insignificant decrease over the last 40 years in North America (data from Breeding Bird Survey and/or Christmas Bird Count: Butcher and Niven 2007) Note, however, that these surveys cover less than 50% of the species's range in North America.

Country/Territory distribution

Country/Territory Occurrence status Extinct Breeding Non-breeding Passage
Afghanistan Unknown No      
Albania Vagrant No      
Algeria Native No      
Angola Native No      
Anguilla (to UK) Native No      
Antarctica Vagrant No      
Antigua and Barbuda Native No      
Argentina Native No      
Armenia Native No Yes    
Aruba (to Netherlands) Native No      
Australia Native No Yes    
Austria Vagrant No      
Azerbaijan Native No Yes    
Bahamas Native No      
Bahrain Native No   Yes Yes
Bangladesh Native No      
Barbados Native No      
Belarus Vagrant No      
Belgium Vagrant No      
Belize Native No   Yes  
Benin Native No      
Bermuda (to UK) Native No      
Bhutan Native No      
Bolivia Native No      
Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba (to Netherlands) Native No      
Bosnia and Herzegovina Vagrant No      
Botswana Native No      
Brazil Native No      
British Indian Ocean Territory Introduced No Yes    
Brunei Native No      
Bulgaria Vagrant Yes Yes    
Burkina Faso Native No      
Burundi Native No      
Cambodia Native No      
Cameroon Native No      
Canada Native No Yes    
Cape Verde Native No      
Cayman Islands (to UK) Native No      
Côte d'Ivoire Native No      
Central African Republic Native No      
Chad Native No      
Chile Native No      
China (mainland) Native No      
Christmas Island (to Australia) Vagrant No      
Cocos (Keeling) Islands (to Australia) Native No      
Colombia Native No      
Comoros Native No      
Congo Native No      
Congo, The Democratic Republic of the Native No      
Costa Rica Native No   Yes  
Croatia Vagrant No      
Cuba Native No      
Curaçao (to Netherlands) Native No      
Cyprus Native No     Yes
Czech Republic Vagrant No      
Denmark Vagrant No      
Djibouti Native No      
Dominica Native No      
Dominican Republic Native No      
Ecuador Native No      
Egypt Native No      
El Salvador Native No      
Equatorial Guinea Native No      
Eritrea Native No      
Ethiopia Native No      
Falkland Islands (Malvinas) Native No      
Finland Vagrant No      
France Native No     Yes
French Guiana Native No      
Gabon Native No      
Gambia Native No      
Georgia Native No      
Germany Vagrant No      
Ghana Native No      
Gibraltar (to UK) Native No   Yes  
Greece Native No Yes   Yes
Grenada Native No Yes    
Guadeloupe (to France) Native No      
Guam (to USA) Native No   Yes  
Guatemala Native No      
Guinea Native No      
Guinea-Bissau Native No      
Guyana Native No      
Haiti Native No      
Honduras Native No      
Hong Kong (China) Native No Yes    
Hungary Vagrant No      
Iceland Vagrant No      
India Native No      
Indonesia Native No      
Iran, Islamic Republic of Native No     Yes
Iraq Native No      
Ireland Vagrant No      
Israel Native No      
Italy Native No      
Jamaica Introduced No Yes    
Japan Native No      
Jordan Native No     Yes
Kazakhstan Native No Yes    
Kenya Native No      
Kuwait Native No   Yes  
Laos Native No      
Latvia Vagrant No      
Lebanon Native No     Yes
Lesotho Native No      
Liberia Native No      
Libya Native No      
Liechtenstein Vagrant No      
Lithuania Vagrant No      
Luxembourg Vagrant No   Yes  
Macao (China) Native No      
Macedonia, the former Yugoslav Republic of Vagrant No      
Madagascar Native No      
Malawi Native No      
Malaysia Native No      
Maldives Native No Yes    
Mali Native No Yes    
Malta Vagrant No      
Marshall Islands Native No   Yes  
Martinique (to France) Native No      
Mauritania Native No      
Mauritius Native No      
Mayotte (to France) Native No      
Mexico Native No      
Micronesia, Federated States of Native No   Yes  
Montenegro Native No Yes    
Montserrat (to UK) Native No      
Morocco Native No      
Mozambique Native No      
Myanmar Native No      
Namibia Native No      
Nepal Native No      
Netherlands Native No Yes    
New Caledonia (to France) Vagrant No      
New Zealand Native No      
Nicaragua Native No      
Niger Native No      
Nigeria Native No      
Norfolk Island (to Australia) Vagrant No      
North Korea Native No Yes    
Northern Mariana Islands (to USA) Native No   Yes  
Norway Vagrant No      
Oman Native No   Yes  
Pakistan Native No      
Palau Native No   Yes  
Palestinian Authority Territories Native No   Yes  
Panama Native No      
Papua New Guinea Native No      
Paraguay Native No      
Peru Native No      
Philippines Native No      
Poland Vagrant No      
Portugal Native No      
Puerto Rico (to USA) Native No Yes    
Qatar Native No     Yes
Réunion (to France) Native No      
Romania Native No Yes    
Russia (Asian) Vagrant No   Yes  
Russia (European) Native No Yes    
Rwanda Native No      
Saudi Arabia Native No     Yes
São Tomé e Príncipe Native No      
Senegal Native No      
Serbia Native No Yes    
Seychelles Native No      
Sierra Leone Native No      
Singapore Native No      
Sint Maarten (to Netherlands) Native No      
Slovenia Vagrant No      
Somalia Native No      
South Africa Native No      
South Georgia & the South Sandwich Islands Native No      
South Korea Native No      
South Sudan Native No Yes Yes  
Spain Native No     Yes
Sri Lanka Native No      
St Helena (to UK) Native No      
St Kitts and Nevis Native No      
St Lucia Native No      
St Martin (to France) Native No      
St Pierre and Miquelon (to France) Vagrant No     Yes
St Vincent and the Grenadines Native No      
Sudan Native No      
Suriname Native No      
Swaziland Native No      
Sweden Vagrant No      
Switzerland Vagrant No      
Syria Native No     Yes
Taiwan (China) Native No      
Tajikistan Vagrant No      
Tanzania Native No Yes    
Thailand Native No      
Timor-Leste Native No      
Togo Native No      
Trinidad and Tobago Native No      
Tunisia Native No      
Turkey Native No      
Turkmenistan Native No Yes    
Turks and Caicos Islands (to UK) Native No      
Uganda Native No      
United Arab Emirates Native No     Yes
United Kingdom Vagrant No      
United States Minor Outlying Islands (to USA) Native No   Yes  
Uruguay Native No Yes    
USA Native No Yes    
Uzbekistan Vagrant No      
Venezuela Native No      
Vietnam Native No      
Virgin Islands (to UK) Native No      
Virgin Islands (to USA) Native No      
Western Sahara Native No      
Yemen Native No     Yes
Zambia Native No      
Zimbabwe Native No      

Important Bird Areas where this species has triggered the IBA criteria

Country/Territory IBA Name IBA link
Algeria Bou Redim site factsheet
Argentina Reserva de Uso Múltiple Bañados del Río Dulce y Laguna Mar Chiquita site factsheet
Azerbaijan Lake Mahmudchala site factsheet
Cameroon Logone flood-plain site factsheet
Guinea-Bissau Arquipélago dos Bijagós site factsheet
Indonesia Dataran Banjir Ogan Komering site factsheet
Indonesia Pulau Dua site factsheet
Iran, Islamic Republic of Anzali Mordab complex site factsheet
Iran, Islamic Republic of Horeh Bamdej site factsheet
Iran, Islamic Republic of Miankaleh Peninsula and Gorgan Bay site factsheet
Iran, Islamic Republic of Seyed Mohalli, Zarin Kola and Larim Sara site factsheet
Israel Carmel coast site factsheet
Israel Hefer valley site factsheet
Israel Jezre'el, Harod and Bet She'an valleys site factsheet
Israel Judean foothills site factsheet
Israel Northern lower Jordan valley site factsheet
Israel Zevulun valley site factsheet
Jordan Jordan Valley site factsheet
Kenya Tana River Delta site factsheet
Mali Kouakourou site factsheet
Mali Koumbé Niasso site factsheet
Mali Lac Débo - Lac Oualado Débo site factsheet
Mali Timisobo - Képagou site factsheet
Morocco Sebkha Bou Areg site factsheet
Nicaragua Bluefields Bay and adjacent landscape site factsheet
Nicaragua Juan Venado Island site factsheet
Niger Tchérassa reservoir site factsheet
Philippines Manila Bay site factsheet
Portugal Murta dam site factsheet
Portugal Paul do Taipal site factsheet
Saudi Arabia Malaki dam site factsheet
Saudi Arabia Umm al-Qamari site factsheet
South Sudan Sudd (Bahr-el-Jebel system) site factsheet
Spain Albufera de Valencia marshes site factsheet
Spain Almenara marshes site factsheet
Spain Ampurdán marshes site factsheet
Spain Azután reservoir site factsheet
Spain Borbollón reservoir site factsheet
Spain Bornos reservoir site factsheet
Spain Ebro delta site factsheet
Spain Isla Cristina and Ayamonte marshes and Prado lagoon site factsheet
Spain La Serena site factsheet
Spain Malpica island (River Tagus) site factsheet
Spain Mérida-Montijo reservoir site factsheet
Spain Medas islands site factsheet
Spain Medina-Sidonia site factsheet
Spain Pela mountain range-Orellana reservoir-Zorita site factsheet
Spain River Mijares mouth site factsheet
Spain San Pedro mountain range site factsheet
Spain Tajo de Barbate coastal cliffs site factsheet
Spain Trujillo-Torrecillas de la Tiesa site factsheet
Spain Valongo site factsheet
Spain Valuengo reservoir site factsheet
Tanzania Wembere steppe site factsheet
Trinidad and Tobago Caroni Swamp site factsheet
Yemen Al-Murah site factsheet
Yemen Ta'izz wadis site factsheet
Zambia Bangweulu Swamps site factsheet
Zambia Kafue Flats site factsheet
Zambia Mweru Wantipa National Park site factsheet

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1) Habitat (level 2) Importance Occurrence
Artificial/Terrestrial Arable Land suitable breeding
Artificial/Terrestrial Pastureland major breeding
Forest Subtropical/Tropical Moist Lowland suitable passage
Grassland Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded major breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) major breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha) major non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls) major non-breeding
Wetlands (inland) Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls) major breeding
Altitude 0 - 4080 m Occasional altitudinal limits  

Utilisation

Purpose Primary form used Life stage used Source Scale Level Timing
Pets Whole Adults and juveniles Wild Subsistence, National Non-trivial Recent
Food (human) Whole Adults and juveniles Wild Subsistence, National Non-trivial Recent
Pets Whole Adults and juveniles Wild International Non-trivial Recent
Handicrafts, jewellery, decorations, curios Whole Adults and juveniles Wild Subsistence, National Non-trivial Recent
Sport Whole Adults and juveniles Wild Subsistence, National Non-trivial Recent

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2013) Species factsheet: Bubulcus ibis. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 21/05/2013. Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2013) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on 21/05/2013.

This information is based upon, and updates, the information published in BirdLife International (2000) Threatened birds of the world. Barcelona and Cambridge, UK: Lynx Edicions and BirdLife International, BirdLife International (2004) Threatened birds of the world 2004 CD-ROM and BirdLife International (2008) Threatened birds of the world 2008 CD-ROM. These sources provide the information for species accounts for the birds on the IUCN Red List.

To provide new information to update this factsheet or to correct any errors, please email BirdLife

To contribute to discussions on the evaluation of the IUCN Red List status of Globally Threatened Birds, please visit BirdLife's Globally Threatened Bird Forums.

Key facts
Current IUCN Red List category Least Concern
Family Ardeidae (Herons and egrets)
Species name author (Linnaeus, 1758)
Population size mature individuals
Population trend Increasing
Distribution size (breeding/resident) 55,400,000 km2
Country endemic? No
Links to further information
- Summary information on this species
- Climate change species distributions