Issa MAA, Ismail SAA, El-Bakhshawngi MIAA, Abed M, Ghaffar RA, De Los Ríos-Escalante PR, Hassan HU. Bioecology and breeding performance of cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) in selected sites at Sharkia Governorate, Egypt.
BRAZ J BIOL 2023;
83:e271632. [PMID:
37851767 DOI:
10.1590/1519-6984.271632]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 10/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Cattle egret Bubulcus ibis, feeds on insect pests in many agro-ecosystems. Thus, there is an urgent need to study the breeding chronology of cattle egret, in order to develop suitable protection programs for this beneficial bird to perform its role as abiological control agent in Egyptian agro-ecosystems. The study was conducted at Sharkia Governorate, Egypt, from December 2018 to December 2020; in different habitats (irrigation canals, drainage canals, garbage collection areas and Abbasa ponds). The mean clutch size ranged from 2-5 eggs/nest with an incubation period ranging between 21-25 days. The mean percentage of hatching success was 90.21%, while the total number of mortality eggs was 47 and the total egg hatching was 433. Also the total number of nests located nearby tree trunks were 73, while nests located in the core of the tree were 47 nests, and nests located at the peripherals were 15 nests.
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