Aspects of breeding biology of Cattle Egret, bubulcus ibis coromandus (boddaert) in Jammu, India

An attempt has been made to gather a firsthand information regarding the various aspects of the breeding biology of Cattle Egrets like courtship displays, location and selection of nesting site, egg laying, egg characteristics, clutch size, incubation period, hatching, nesting success, hatching success, nest life, weaning period etc. The breeding period was discerned to be starting from March to July and Acacia nilotica was observed to be the first preference as a nesting site followed by Mangifera indica. The average clutch size was recorded to be 3.70 ± 0.56 (n=200) with the incubation period ranging from 21–23 days (n=250). The mean length, breadth, fresh weight of egg and egg volume was observed to be 46.24 ± 2.94 mm, 34.02 ± 2.11 mm, 20.84 ±1.71gms and 27457.41 ± 4321.99 mm³ (n=200) respectively. Furthermore, mean hatching success (%) was found to be 58.65 ± 35.60 and mean chick survival or breeding success was found to be 39.99 ± 33.68. Using Mayfield's method, the daily survival rates were calculated to be 0.460 and 0.612 during the incubation and nestling periods, respectively, and 0.794 overall. However, the daily survival rates indicated an increase during the years 2008 (0.396), 2009 (0.702) and 2010 (0.855). The chicks were observed to portray Asynchronous Hatching. The incubation period was followed by a weaning period of 21–23 days in which the parents were noticed to feed their hatchlings firstly by indirect feeding and then switching that to direct feeding i.e. Beak Grab Feeding. Good parental care was discerned in Cattle Egrets.