What is Cattle egret?
{{Taxobox | name = Cattle egret | status = LC | status_system = iucn3.1 | status_ref = <ref name =IUCN>{{IUCN2008|assessors=BirdLife International|year=2008|id=144683|title=Bubulcus ibis|downloaded= 2008-11-05|ref=}} Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern</ref> | image = Bubulcus ibis (Garcita del ganado) (16825919180).jpg | image_width = 200px | image_caption = Breeding adult | regnum = [[Animal]]ia | phylum = [[Chordate|Chordata]] | classis = [[bird|Aves]] | ordo = [[Pelecaniformes]] | familia = [[heron|Ardeidae]] | genus = '''''Bubulcus''''' | binomial = ''Bubulcus ibis'' | binomial_authority = ([[Carolus Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], 1758) | range_map = Bubulcus map.svg | range_map_width = 250px | range_map_caption = Range map<br/>yellow: breeding<br/>green: year-round<br/>blue: non-breeding }} [[File:Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) -in flight.jpg|thumb|right|230px|Cattle egret in flight during mating season.]] The '''cattle egret''' (''Bubulcus ibis'') is a [[cosmopolitan distribution|cosmopolitan]] species of [[heron]] ([[family (biology)|family]] [[heron|Ardeidae]]) found in the [[tropics]], subtropics and warm temperate zones. It is the only member of the genus '''''Bubulcus''''', with two subspecies, the '''western cattle egret''' and the '''eastern cattle egret'''. It is a stocky white [[bird]] adorned with buff [[feather|plumes]] in the breeding season. It nests in colonies, usually near bodies of water and often with other wading birds. Unlike most other herons, it feeds in relatively dry grassy habitats, often [[Commensalism|with]] cattle or other large mammals. It catches insect and small [[vertebrate]] prey disturbed by these animals. It also captures [[tick]]s and [[flies]] from cattle. Originally native to parts of [[Asia]], [[Africa]] and [[Europe]], it has undergone a rapid expansion in its distribution and successfully [[Colony (biology)|colonised]] much of the rest of the world. This is because humans now raise [[Domestication|domesticated cattle]] throughout m