Eastern Cattle Egret

Eastern Cattle Egret (Bubulcus coromandus) is a compact white Asian heron that develops extensive orange-buff colouring on its head, neck and back during the breeding season. Body shape, bill structure, plumage pattern and voice provide the strongest field characters. Age, sex and season may alter its appearance, so identification should combine several features and careful direct field comparisons with similar species in the same habitat (Wikipedia, general species account).

It follows livestock and machinery through grassland and farmland to capture disturbed insects and small vertebrates, while breeding communally in trees near wetlands. Its movements and social behaviour vary through the year, with breeding birds generally more dispersed and non-breeding birds gathering where food is concentrated. Japanese records place it within the country's documented avifauna as a resident, migrant or visitor (Wikipedia, general species account; Wildlife of Japan occurrence records).