Your photostudy tonight is on the Cattle Egret, as the Great Spring Migration continues. But first a quick update on the update from the last post describing the Prince Anole~ event in Walmart.
(i.e. He jumped in her face and she threw a fit, knocking things down, screaming, drawing a crowd, a cop, and the store manager, and she launched the Prince almost to the tall ceiling....).
Anyway, I received a complaint on that post
(from my best critic: the blind guy with the magnifying glass).
He said: Last week I clearly stated that I was NOT a Liar.
Last night I said: I lied like a big dog.
Now I know how the President and others must feel. Maybe sometimes you just have to lie to save your own neck. In human nature, everybody lies. So that's what I bring to the table tonight: When is it okay to Lie? How many lies make one a Liar? And in my case (and the President's) the truth is stranger than fiction!
Who would believe I would wear an earring that is a live lizard?
To lie or not to lie, that is the question!
Now on to the birds:
Cattle Egret
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis) is a cosmopolitan species of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics and warm temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus Bubulcus, although some authorities regard its two subspecies as full species, the Western Cattle Egret and the Eastern Cattle Egret. Despite the similarities in plumage to the egrets of the genus Egretta, it is more closely related to the herons of Ardea. Originally native to parts of Asia, Africa and Europe, it has undergone a rapid expansion in its distribution and successfully colonised much of the rest of the world.
It is a white bird adorned with buff plumes in the breeding season. It nests in colonies, usually near bodies of water and often with other wading birds. The nest is a platform of sticks in trees or shrubs. Cattle Egrets exploit drier and open habitats more than other heron species. Their feeding habitats include seasonally inundated grasslands, pastures, farmlands, wetlands and rice paddies. They often accompany cattle or other large mammals, catching insect and small vertebrate prey disturbed by these animals. Some populations of the Cattle Egret are migratory and others show post-breeding dispersal.
The adult Cattle Egret has few predators, but birds or mammals may raid its nests, and chicks may be lost to starvation, calcium deficiency or disturbance from other large birds. This species maintains a special relationship with cattle, which extends to other large grazing mammals. The cattle egret removes ticks and flies from cattle and consumes them. This benefits both species, but it has been implicated in the spread of tick-borne animal diseases.
| Cattle Egret | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Breeding-plumaged adult of nominate subspecies | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Ciconiiformes |
| Family: | Ardeidae |
| Genus: | Bubulcus Bonaparte, 1855 |
| Species: | B. ibis |
| Binomial name | |
| Bubulcus ibis (Linnaeus, 1758) | |
| Subspecies | |
B. i. ibis (Linnaeus, 1758)
B. i. coromandus (Boddaert, 1783) B. i. seychellarum (Salomonsen, 1934) | |
 | |
| Range map yellow: breeding green: year-round blue: non-breeding | |
| Synonyms | |
Ardea ibis Linnaeus, 1758
Ardeola ibis (Linnaeus, 1758) Bubulcus bubulcus Buphus coromandus (Boddaert, 1783) Cancroma coromanda (Boddaert, 1783) Egretta ibis (Linnaeus, 1758) Lepterodatis ibis (Linnaeus, 1758) | |
Taxonomy
The Cattle Egret was first described in 1758 by Linnaeus in hisSystema naturae as Ardea ibis,[2] but was moved to its current genus by Charles Lucien Bonaparte in 1855.[3] Its genus nameBubulcus is Latin for herdsman, referring, like the English name, to this species' association with cattle.[4] Ibis is a Latin and Greekword which originally referred to another white wading bird, theSacred Ibis.[5]
The Cattle Egret has two geographical races which are sometimes classified as full species, the Western Cattle Egret, B. ibis, and Eastern Cattle Egret, B. coromandus. The two forms were split by McAllan and Bruce,[6] but were regarded as conspecific by almost all other recent authors until the publication of the influential Birds of South Asia.[7] The eastern subspecies B. (i.) coromandus, described byPieter Boddaert in 1783, breeds in Asia and Australasia, and the western nominate form occupies the rest of the species range, including theAmericas.[8] Some authorities recognise a third Seychelles subspecies, B. i. seychellarum, which was first described by Finn Salomonsen in 1934.[9]
Despite superficial similarities in appearance, the Cattle Egret is more closely related to the genus Ardea, which comprises the great or typical herons and the Great Egret (A. alba), than to the majority of species termed egrets in the genus Egretta.[10] Rare cases of hybridization withLittle Blue Heron Egretta caerulea, Little Egret Egretta garzetta and Snowy Egret Egretta thula have been recorded.[11]
[edit]Description
The Cattle Egret is a stocky heron with a 88–96 cm (35–38 in) wingspan; it is 46–56 centimetres (18–22 in) long and weighs 270–512 grams (9.5–18.1 oz).[12] It has a relatively short thick neck, sturdy bill, and a hunched posture. The non-breeding adult has mainly white plumage, a yellow bill and greyish-yellow legs. During the breeding season, adults of the nominate western subspecies develop orange-buff plumes on the back, breast andcrown, and the bill, legs and irises become bright red for a brief period prior to pairing.[13] The sexes are similar, but the male is marginally larger and has slightly longer breeding plumes than the female; juvenile birds lack coloured plumes and have a black bill.[12][14]
B. i. coromandus differs from the nominate subspecies in breeding plumage, when the buff colour on its head extends to the cheeks and throat, and the plumes are more golden in colour. This subspecies' bill andtarsus are longer on average than in B. i. ibis.[15] B. i. seychellarum is smaller and shorter-winged than the other forms. It has white cheeks and throat, like B. i. ibis, but the nuptial plumes are golden, as with B. i. coromandus.[9]
The positioning of the egret's eyes allows for binocular vision during feeding,[16] and physiological studies suggest that the species may be capable of crepuscular or nocturnal activity.[17] Adapted to foraging on land, they have lost the ability possessed by their wetland relatives to accurately correct for light refraction by water.[18]
This species gives a quiet, throaty "rick-rack" call at the breeding colony, but is otherwise largely silent.[19]
[edit]Distribution and habitat
The Cattle Egret has undergone one of the most rapid and wide reaching natural expansions of any bird species.[19] It was originally native to parts of Southern Spain and Portugal, tropical and subtropical Africa and humid tropical and subtropical Asia. In the end of the 19th century it began expanding its range into southern Africa, first breeding in the Cape Province in 1908.[20] Cattle Egrets were first sighted in the Americas on the boundary of Guiana and Suriname in 1877, having apparently flown across the Atlantic Ocean.[8][12] It was not until the 1930s that the species is thought to have become established in that area.[21]
The species first arrived in North America in 1941 (these early sightings were originally dismissed as escapees), bred in Florida in 1953, and spread rapidly, breeding for the first time in Canada in 1962.[20] It is now commonly seen as far west as California. It was first recorded breeding in Cuba in 1957, in Costa Rica in 1958, and in Mexicoin 1963, although it was probably established before that.[21] In Europe the species had historically declined in Spain and Portugal, but in the latter part of the 20th century it expanded back through the Iberian Peninsula, and then began to colonise other parts of Europe; southern France in 1958, northern France in 1981 and Italy in 1985.[20] Breeding in the United Kingdom was recorded for the first time in 2008 only a year after an influx seen in the previous year.[22][23] In 2008 cattle egrets were also reported as having moved into Ireland for the first time.[24]
In Australia the colonisation began in the 1940s, with the species establishing itself in the north and east of the continent.[25] It began to regularly visit New Zealand in the 1960s. Since 1948 the Cattle Egret has been permanently resident in Israel. Prior to 1948 it was only a winter visitor. [26]
The massive and rapid expansion of the Cattle Egret's range is due to its relationship with humans and theirdomesticated animals. Originally adapted to a commensal relationship with large browsing animals, it was easily able to switch to domesticated cattle and horses. As the keeping of livestock spread throughout the world, the Cattle Egret was able to occupy otherwise empty niches.[27] Many populations of Cattle Egrets are highlymigratory and dispersive,[19] and this has helped the species' range expansion. The species has been seen as a vagrant in various sub-Antarctic islands, including South Georgia, Marion Island, the South Sandwich Islands and the South Orkney Islands.[28] A small flock of eight birds was also seen in Fiji in 2008.[29]
In addition to the natural expansion of its range, Cattle Egrets have been introduced into a few areas. The species was introduced to Hawaii in 1959, and to the Chagos Archipelago in 1955. Successful releases were also made in the Seychelles and Rodrigues, but attempts to introduce the species to Mauritiusfailed. Numerous birds were also released by Whipsnade Zoo in England, but the species was never established.[30]
Although the Cattle Egret sometimes feeds in shallow water, unlike most herons it is typically found in fields and dry grassy habitats, reflecting its greater dietary reliance on terrestrial insects rather than aquatic prey.[31]
[edit]Migration and movements
Some populations of Cattle Egrets are migratory, others are dispersive, and distinguishing between the two can be difficult for this species.[19] In many areas populations can be both sedentary and migratory. In the northern hemisphere migration is from cooler climes to warmer areas, but Cattle Egrets nesting in Australia migrate to cooler Tasmania and New Zealand in the winter and return in the spring.[25] Migration in western Africa is in response to rainfall, and in South America migrating birds travel south of their breeding range in the non breeding season.[19] Populations in southern India appear to show local migrations in response to the monsoons. They move north from Kerala after September.[32][33] During winter, many birds have been seen flying at night with flocks of Indian Pond Herons (Ardeola grayii) on the southeastern coast of India[34] and a winter influx has also been noted in Sri Lanka.[7]
Young birds are known to disperse up to 5,000 km (3,100 mi) from their breeding area. Flocks may fly vast distances and have been seen over seas and oceans including in the middle of the Atlantic.[35]
[edit]Status
This species has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 10 million square kilometres (3.8 million square miles). Its global population estimated to be 3.8–6.7 million individuals. For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.[1] On the other hand the expansion and establishment of the species over large ranges has led it to be classed as an invasive species (although little, if any impact has been noted yet).[36]
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hGmQ292qppo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akht91Px4Qs
Published on Apr 23, 2013
Powerful eartquakes, sandstorms, major flooding and fireballs falling from the sky has taking place the past week or so..
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FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes only. This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
*Music Used*
Switch Trailer Music -- Castaway
Earthquake Updates
http://www.youtube.com/user/MegaFight...
Thank you all for sharing with me on FB, join us here
http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hawkkey...
Watch More Of This Series From The Playlist
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=...
I do not own any of these videos thanks to all the people who film these disasters and the news medias that report them.
FAIR USE NOTICE: This video may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes only. This constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law.
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...this is brendasue signing off from Rainbow Creek.
See You next time. Wishing You all a good week. Watch for the Birds!
Of Course, one more great performance:
O+O
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