- Theristicus melanopis
Identification
71–76 cm (28-30 in)
- Chesnut on head and hind neck sharply contrasting to pale buff lower sides of head and front of neck.
- Black bare skin round the eyes
- Black wattle below the curved bill
- Greyish wing coverts and back
- A marking shaped like a spur extends from the shoulder down to the chest
- Reddish-cream foreneck and underparts
- Black area on lower breast and belly
- In flight shows black flight feathers and the wing coverts can seem whitish depending on the light
Immature: dusky neck streaking and buffy feather edges on the wing-coverts produce a scalloped effect.
Similar Species
Buff-necked Ibis which has white in the wing and a buffish breast. Andean Ibis lacks the wattle, has shorter bill and legs and longer tail, and it is much paler on most of the underparts. Head and neck shows brighter cinnamon but without the strong contrast.
Distribution
South America: found in coastal Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina south to Tierra del Fuego.
Taxonomy
This is a monotypic species[1].
Andean Ibis and Black-faced Ibis were for a while considered two species, then one, and now again two separate species[2].
Habitat
Wet grasslands, open grassy and agricultural fields, salt lagoons, arid sandy areas.
Behaviour
Southern populations migratory, reaching areas in northern Argentina east of the areas where they breed.
Diet
The diet consists of insects, worms, frogs, salamanders and sometimes rodents. In addition they consume a lot of burrowing larvae. They will also take small chicks and mammals.
Breeding
Their nests can be found in woodland, on cliffs and in rocky gullies. The clutch consists of two eggs, which are incubated by the female for 28 days. They sometimes nest in colonies with Black-crowned Night Heron
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, S. M. Billerman, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2019. The eBird/Clements Checklist of Birds of the World: v2019. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- https://www.birdforum.net/showthread.php?t=209440
- Jaramillo, A. 2003. Birds of Chile. Princeton & Oxford: Princeton Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0691117409
- Schulenberg, T. S. & Stotz, D. F. & Lane, D. F. & O'Neill, J. P. & Parker III, T. A. & Egg, A. B. (2010). Birds of Peru: Revised and Updated Edition. Princeton: Princeton University Press. ISBN 978-0691130231
- Matheu, E., J. del Hoyo, E. F. J. Garcia, G. M. Kirwan, and P. F. D. Boesman (2020). Black-faced Ibis (Theristicus melanopis), version 1.0. In Birds of the World (J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal, D. A. Christie, and E. de Juana, Editors). Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, NY, USA. https://doi.org/10.2173/bow.bkfibi1.01
- BirdForum Member observations
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Black-faced Ibis. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 3 May 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Black-faced_Ibis
External Links
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