Cover image: Grey Heron by Ryan Tippett– Zimanga Game Reserve, KwaZulu-Natal – BirdPix No. 22138

Identification

The Grey Heron is a large, conspicuous and easily identifiable species. The sexes are alike.

Adults in breeding plumage have a white head, nape, throat and neck. The fore neck has a series of black streaks that form a pair of lines ending at the breast. The eyebrow is black and broad, leading to plumes that form a lax crest. The back and tail pale are grey, and the upper wings are pale grey, with black shoulder patches. The underparts are pale greyish-white with pale grey plumes on the breast. The straight, pointed bill is orange-yellow and the eyes are dull yellow. The long legs are yellowish-brown. Non-breeding adults are similar but lack the plumes on the nape and breast.

In flight the Grey Heron is seen to have pale grey upper wings with black shoulder patches. From below the wings are uniform dark blueish-grey.

Juveniles resemble non-breeding adults, but are paler grey with less contrasting colours. The forehead and crown are dark grey and the nape is dull black and they have heavy, dark brown streaking on the throat. Immatures and juveniles also have duller bills with dark grey upper mandibles.

The Grey Heron most resembles the similarly sized Black-headed Heron (Ardea melanocephala). Confusion is most likely between juveniles, but those of the Grey Heron are distinguished at all ages by the plain grey underwings. The underwings of the Black-headed Heron are contrasting black-and-white.

Status and Distribution

The Grey Heron is a common resident and local nomad. It is widespread across Eurasia and Africa. The range of the Grey Heron covers most of Africa (excluding the Sahara), Europe and Asia (including India, China, Japan and Indonesia). In Africa it is primarily a Palearctic migrant north of the equator, and a breeding resident to the south.

The Grey Heron occurs throughout most of southern Africa. It is is less common in the drier west where it concentrates at the coast and along major river systems and at isolated water bodies. It is absent from the very arid parts of Namibia, the Kalahari basin and some of the north-western parts of the Northern Cape due to a lack of surface water.

The Grey Heron is not threatened locally or globally. A regional range expansion probably occurred during the 20th century, helped by agricultural practices and the construction of artificial water bodies.

Habitat

The Grey Heron frequents shallow water bodies in all major habitat types. These include the marine intertidal zone, estuaries, lagoons, rivers, lakes, marshes and pans. It also common at man-made habitats like dams, canals, sewage works and salt works. It is sometimes also found in open grassland near water.

Behaviour

The Grey Heron is generally found singly or in small groups when hunting, but is colonial when breeding. They are commonly seen standing or wading in shallow water, but sometimes in water deep enough to partially submerge the body.

The Grey Heron is mostly active by day but will also hunt after dark, especially on moonlit nights. It often stands still for long periods while waiting for food to come to them. On occasion it dives for fish from a perch, submerging completely. When prey is sighted, it rapidly extends its neck and strikes, spearing or capturing prey with the bill. Prey is manipulated into a head-first position before being swallowed. Food items are swallowed by jerking the head back and rapidly opening and closing bill. Small items are swallowed alive, while larger prey is shaken or stabbed to death before swallowing. They will discard food items that are too large to swallow.

The Grey Heron is predatory and consumes a wide range of animal prey, with fish weighing up to 110 grams being preferred. They will also readily take frogs, large tadpoles, molluscs, crustaceans, worms, insects, turtle hatchlings, eels, snakes, lizards, small rodents and birds. Plant material is rarely eaten. The Grey Heron occasionally steals food from other species like cormorants and is itself a regular victim of kleptoparasitism by African Fish Eagles (Haliaeetus vocifer) and Grey-headed Gulls (Chroicocephalus cirrocephalus).

Grey Herons roosts singly or in groups, usually in trees and sometimes also on cliffs. It flies with the neck pulled into an ‘S’ shape with legs outstretched.

The Grey Heron has been recorded breeding throughout the year but mainly during the summer months. They usually nest colonially and often in mixed-species colonies with other herons, egrets, cormorants, African Darter and storks. They will sometimes also nest singly or in small groups.

The nest is a large platform of sticks, lined with grass and is usually placed in the fork of a tree over water. Nests are sometimes also built in reedbeds or rarely, on cliffs or on the ground. The nest is normally constructed by the female with nest material brought to her by the male. Two to four blueish-green eggs are laid per clutch. The incubation period lasts for up to 28 days and is performed by both sexes. The nestling period lasts for a further 30 days or so. Nestlings are fed and cared for by both parents and are able to fly after about 50 days. Juvenile birds become independent after 60 to 70 days.

Further Resources for the African Sacred Ibis

Species text adapted from the first Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1), 1997.

The use of photographs by Dave Rimmer, Derek Solomon, Fanie Rautenbach, Jean Hirons, Malcolm Robinson, Rene Navarro, Tino Herselman, Vaughan Jessnitz and Zenobia van Dyk is acknowledged.

Virtual Museum (BirdPix > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name).

Other common names: Bloureier (Afrikaans); uNokilonki (Zulu); Isikhwalimanzi (Xhosa); Blauwe Reiger (Dutch); Héron cendré (French); Graureiher (German); Garça-real (Portuguese)

A list of bird species in this format is available here.

Recommended citation format: Tippett RM 2024. Grey Heron Ardea cinerea. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2024/02/23/grey-heron-ardea-cinerea/

Bird identification, birding

Cover image: Western Cattle Egret by David Kennedy– Linyanti Swamps, Botswana – BirdPix No. 249235

The Western Cattle Egret is monotypic, meaning it lacks close relatives and has been placed in its own genus. They are not that closely related to other egrets.

Identification

The Western Cattle Egret is a conspicuous, largely all-white bird and is normally closely associated with cattle and large game animals.

It is the smallest of the white egrets and has a stocky build with a relatively short bill, neck and legs. They are all white when not breeding but develop buff-coloured plumes on the crown, mantle and breast. The bill colour varies from yellow to orange, and the legs are dull brownish to yellow. The sexes are alike.

Immature and juvenile birds are all-white and have black bills, legs and feet.

The Western Cattle Egret could be confused with the larger Intermediate Egret (Ardea intermedia), but that species is slimmer, with a longer-neck and a longer bill, and its lower legs are blackish, not yellowish. Little Egret differs from juvenile Western Cattle Egrets by having a more slender build and has black legs with bright yellow feet and a longer bill.

Status and Distribution

The Western Cattle Egret has a very wide distribution and is found throughout the warmer regions of the world. The species was historically confined to tropical Africa, Madagascar and south-east Asia but it has expanded its range dramatically during the 20th century. The Western Cattle Egret now occurs throughout Africa, across the Mediterranean region, India, southern Asia, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and North and South America!

A global increase in cattle farming, coupled with high breeding rates and effective dispersal and migration strategies, have enabled the species to undergo one of the most remarkable range expansions and population increases of any bird.

During the late late 1800s the Western Cattle Egret first began spreading throughout Africa and reached southern Europe by 1950. African birds are believed to have dispersed across the Atlantic Ocean to north-eastern South America in the 1880’s, reaching Alaska by 1981. Its range expansion across Asia to Australia and New Zealand took place in the 1940’s.

The Cattle Egret is a very common resident or nomad and is found throughout southern Africa, but is sparse in the arid western regions. It is not threatened.

Habitat

The Cattle Egret inhabits open grassland, grassy savanna, floodplains, wetland fringes, semi-arid scrub, man-made pastures and agricultural lands. They are usually associated with large game mammals or domestic stock, especially cattle, buffalo and elephants. Western Cattle Egrets are also occasionally found on open seashores and avoid dense woodland, forest and desert. Roosts in trees or reedbeds in or near inland waters like marshes, rivers and dams..

Behaviour

Western Cattle Egrets are highly gregarious and are most often found in flocks of 10 to 20 birds. Birds usually gather in larger numbers at water in the late afternoon, before flying to their roosting site. They often roost communally with other water birds. In the morning they disperse up to 20 km away to its feeding grounds.

Typically hunts by walking steadily before either running forward to stab at prey, or standing crouched, with its neck swaying before striking. They may glean items from vegetation, or seize flushed prey in the air. Small food items are swallowed whole, larger ones are repeatedly pecked or washed in water before swallowing.

They will occasionally follow ploughs to seize disturbed invertebrates, but are far more often associated with mammals, ranging from cattle and other domestic livestock such as sheep and goats, to antelope, zebra, buffalo, rhinos and elephants.

They frequently perch on the backs of large mammals, particularly in tall grass, where visibility is poor.

Research has shown that by associating with mammals, and feeding on disturbed prey items, they obtain, on average, 37% more food than they would by foraging alone.

This egret’s diet consists largely of insects. Locusts and grasshoppers predominate, but a wide range of other invertebrates are consumed such as beetles, caterpillars, flies, spiders and earth worms. Ticks are also important in their diet and are mostly gleaned from vegetation but are sometimes also removed from large mammals. Vertebrates like frogs, tadpoles, fish, reptiles, small mammals, adult birds and nestlings are also eaten.

The Western Cattle Egret breeds throughout the year in South Africa. Breeding mainly takes place from August to February with a November/December peak in the summer rainfall regions. It breeds during winter in the winter rainfall region of the Western Cape.

It is a highly colonial breeder, often in mixed colonies with other species such as storks, herons, egrets, spoonbills and cormorants. The nest is a simple platform of sticks lined with leaves and grass. Nests are most frequently placed in trees but also in bushes or sometimes even on the ground.

Two to five eggs are laid per clutch. The eggs are dull white, sometimes with a blueish tinge and usually with some reddish-brown spots. The incubation period lasts for around 29 days and incubation duties are shared by both parents. Chicks are altricial and the nestlings are ready to leave the nest after 14 to 21 days. The young birds are fed and cared for by both parents.

Further Resources for the Western Cattle Egret

Species text adapted from the first Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1), 1997.

The use of photographs by Cobus Elstadt, David Kennedy, Derek Solomon, Irene Brown, Karis Daniel, Les Underhill, Malcolm Robinson, Mark Stanton and Megan Loftie-Eaton is acknowledged.

Virtual Museum (BirdPix > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name).

Other common names: Cattle Egret (Alternative English Name); Veereier, Springkaanvoel (Afrikaans); iLanda (Zulu); Dzandza (Tswana); Koereiger (Dutch); Héron garde-boeufs (French); Kuhreiher (German); Garça-boieira (Portuguese)

List of bird species in this format is available here.

Recommended citation format: Tippett RM 2024. Western Cattle Egret Bubulcus ibis. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2024/02/19/western-cattle-egret-bubulcus-ibis/

Bird identification, birding

Cover image: Pririt Batis by Ryan Tippett– Carnarvon district, Northern Cape –  BirdPix No. 252534

Batises make up a genus of small, uniquely African, flycatcher-like birds, that are in fact most closely related to the Bushshrikes and Helmetshrikes.

Identification

The Pririt Batis is sexually dimorphic, with the sexes differing in plumage colouration. Unusually for birds, the females are more colourful than the males.

Males are striking black, white and grey birds. The forehead, crown and nape are dark grey, bordered by a narrow white supercilium. A black facial mask extends from the base of the bill to the sides of the neck. The rest of the upper parts from the hind neck to the rump are grey. Flight feathers are black with a distinct white wing bar. The undersides, from the chin to the vent are white, except for a broad, glossy black breast band. The flanks show indistinct grey speckling. The tail is black with white outer tail feathers.

Females have the same general plumage as the males, but the chin, throat, lower sides of the neck and breast are pale orange, shading to white on the belly. Juveniles resemble females but are duller with dark brown mottling on the buff-orange breast. In both sexes and juveniles, the bill, legs and feet are black and the eyes are relatively large and yellow.

The female Pririt Batis is unlikely to be mistaken for any other species within its range, but males closely resemble those of the Chinspot Batis (Batis molitor). The Chinspot Batis lacks the grey speckled flanks. The distribution of the two species overlaps marginally in the north and east of the Pririt Batis’s range.

Male Pririt Batises could also be confused with the black, white and grey of the Fairy Flycatcher (Stenostira scita), but that species has a longer tail and does not have a broad black breast band.

Status and Distribution

The Pririt Batis is a common resident and near-endemic to southern Africa, extending only marginally into south-western Angola. There are two disjunct populations. The northern population occurs in Namibia, Botswana and central and north-western South Africa (Northern Cape, Free State and North West Province.) The southern population occurs in the succulent Karoo regions of the Western and Eastern Cape. The gap in distribution corresponds to a high-lying and virtually treeless region on the escarpment and central plateau.

No widespread regular movements have been recorded for the Pririt Batis. However, there may be some movement into the periphery of its range, mainly in the south and east, during winter and drought periods. The Pririt Batis does not seem to be under any threat across its large range. The species probably benefits from bush encroachment in response to overgrazing.

Habitat

The Pririt Batis inhabits various arid and semi-arid woodlands, especially Acacia (Vachelia) savanna. It also occurs along wooded watercourses in deserts and Karoo scrub. In the north-eastern part of its range it is present in dry Mopane (Colophospermum mopane) woodland. In the Karoo, the Pririt Batis also occurs in stands of alien Mesquite (Prosopis spp). The Pririt Batis is a common garden bird at farmsteads and villages in the Karoo.

Behaviour

The Pririt Batis occurs in pairs or small family groups and readily associates with mixed bird parties, especially in winter. It is quite tame and inquisitive. The Pririt Batis is very active, often jerking the head and flicking its tail as it searches the canopies of trees and bushes for food. Flights between trees are undulating, often with conspicuous ‘wing-snapping’. They frequently mob predators such as the Pearl-spotted Owlet.

Most prey is captured by gleaning insects from leaves, twigs and branches, and food items are often seized with an audible bill snap. Also hawks flying insects, and sometimes descends to the ground to catch prey. The Pririt Batis is insectivorous feeding on a variety of small crawling and flying insects.

Over most of its range it is the only batis present, but along an extensive common boundary in the north and east it comes into contact with the Chinspot Batis. There appears to be regular interaction between these species where they co-occur.

The Pririt Batis mostly breeds during summer from September to May. Breeding has also been recorded in July and August which suggests breeding may be opportunistic at any time of the year according to rainfall.

The nest is a small, neat cup made from plant fibres and bound with spider web and decorated on the outside with cocoons and small bits of bark. The nest is most often placed on a fairly slender, horizontal branch in thorn trees.

1 to 4 eggs are laid per clutch. The eggs are incubated by the female only and the eggs hatch after 17 days or so. The nestling period also lasts for around 17 days, during which time they are fed and cared for by both parents. Fledglings are dependant on their parents for about 6 weeks after leaving the nest. The Pririt Batis is a regular host of the brood parasitic Klaas’s Cuckoo (Chrysococcyx klaas).

Further Resources

Species text adapted from the first Southern African Bird Atlas Project (SABAP1), 1997.

The use of photographs by Dieter Oschadleus, Gerald Wingate, Gregg Darling, J.K. Boyce, Jorrie Jordaan, Josu Meléndez, Maans Booysen and Zenobia van Dyk is acknowledged.

Virtual Museum (BirdPix > Search VM > By Scientific or Common Name).

Other common names: Priritbosbontrokkie (Afrikaans); Pririt de Vieillot (French); Pririt-vliegenvanger (Dutch); Priritschnäpper (German); Batis de Pririt (Portuguese)

Recommended citation format: Tippett RM 2023. Pririt Batis Batis pririt. Biodiversity and Development Institute. Available online at https://thebdi.org/2024/01/29/pririt-batis-batis-pririt/

List of bird species in this format is available here.

Bird identification, birding