White Ibis

Alternative name: American White Ibis to distinguish it from the Australian White Ibis.

Eudocimus albus

Photo by Steve G.
Photo taken: Southern Dunes, Polk County, Florida, USA.

Identification

Adults are 65 cm long with a 95 cm wingspan. They have all-white plumage except for black wingtips (visible in flight) and reddish bills and legs. The red bill blends into the face of breeding birds; non-breeding birds show a pink to red face. Juveniles are largely brown with duller bare parts; they are distinguished from the Glossy and White-faced Ibises by white underparts and rumps.

Distribution

Occurs from the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States south through most of the New World tropics.

Taxonomy

This bird hybridizes with the Scarlet Ibis, and they are sometimes considered conspecific.

Habitat

It occurs in marshy wetlands and pools near the coast. It also occurs on mowed grass and has become common in some city parks.

Behaviour

The song of the male is an advertising hunk-hunk-hunk-hunk. The female squeals. When feeding, the birds often give a soft, grunting croo, croo, croo as they forage.

Like the other species of ibis, the White Ibis flies with neck and legs outstreched, often in long, loose lines.

It builds a stick nest in trees, bushes, or over water, and 2 to 5 eggs are typically laid. White ibises are monogomous and colonial, usually nesting in mixed colonies with other wading species.

This ibis feeds by probing with its long, downcurved beak. Its diet consists of various fish, frogs and other water creatures, as well as insects.

References

Keith Bildstein, White Ibis: Wetland Wanderer (Smithsonian: 1993), ISBN 1560982233

External Links

Search for photos of White Ibis in the gallery