Cattle egret

I saw several cattle egrets while exploring SW Arkansas. They were usually in the farm ponds that had cattle or on and around the cattle (see pics 4 and 5). The cattle were taking advantage of the ponds and shade of trees during this extremely hot spell. The cattle egret is a medium stocky-sized wading bird that is usually found with cattle. The cattle egret removes ticks and flies from cattle and consumes them. This benefits both species.