this to the mop of hair-herons counting, Africa including Madagascar, Southern Europe (Portugal, South-Spain) and Asia (Near east and South-Asia), lived in 50 cm big cow-herons originally.
Spread Completely, the cow-herons succeeded with it without human help, from Africa from the American doubles-continent and, to populate also Australia from Asia from in the last decades. Even New Zealand turned from the type of the mop of hair-herons since 1963 into the new home of these herons.
These almost fully white herons so frequently were not also in Africa originally and widespread with nowadays. Through the increasing livestock-attitude and reclamation of wide regions of Africa, the life-conditions for these birds improved themselves strongly.
Way of life Earlier, cow-heron accompanied "only" the wild Weidegänger and caught the insects startled by the hooves of the big game; they now do the same also with the numerous house-cows. Frequently, the birds collect also parasites of the skin of the pasture-livestock from and follows the people with the field work in order to get loot-animals behind the plow or the heel from the ground. Cow-herons are therefore regarded as useful animals and are protected from prosecution. As distinct Kulturfolger, they nest also in immediate proximity of human settlements, even at the edge of cities, and become relatively tame.
Cow-herons visit certain resting places regularly, at (usually trees) which they often meet in large number. they can have socialized with other heron-types and Kormoranen.
Reproduction The male brings branches, reed and similar material, that are processed to a flat nest by the female brood-partner. Can be been after high trees, in shrubs or also in the reeds and on the ground of protected islands. Usually, cow-herons nest colony-wisely near water-surfaces.
The nest consists of 4-5 greenish until easily blue colored eggs, that become erbrütet from both alto-birds for 21-25 days. The nestlings have a dense white Dunenkleid; they are looked after by both parents approximately for 30 days until the fully-fledged-development.
Shape The plumage of the cow-herons is uniformly in the youth and silence-dress knows, only the yellow beak and the greenish legs take off from it. The brood-dress differs sallow in them until red colored longer jewelry-feathers at the rear-head, on which backs and on the stomach-side. Both sexes of the cow-heron resemble from.
Rallenreiher The Rallenreiher (Ardeola ralloides) is a near relative of the cow-heron and lives also in Europe (brood-areas in South-Portugal, Spain, South-France, Italy, Hungary, South-Russia as well as on the Balkans) as single further type of the mop of hair-herons and in addition in Asia until Turkestan, in Africa and Madagascar. The brood-colonies are known in the Danube - and in the Rhônedelta.
Way of life Rallenreiher are feather-mop of hair with its in the Röhricht brownish-whitens very well camouflaged, in which quickly it itself like the Rallen (name)!) be able to move. Insects and its larva are its main-food. To the incubation, Rallenreiher get a blue beak, and the color of its feet shifts after red from green-yellow peculiarly.
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