White Ibis

The ibis family (Threskiornithidae) is a large one! It is made up of 33 species, including the White ibis. They are all long-legged, long-necked wading birds with short tails.
The White ibis is an excellent example of the colonial waterbird. These birds nest in huge colonies in fresh water marshes or along the ocean coast. Researchers have counted 60,000-80,000 individuals in one colony in the Everglades National Park, Florida! During the day, white ibis may fly up to 15 miles or more to find small crustaceans, fish, frogs, and aquatic insects to eat and to feed their young.
They also can be found along the coast of North Carolina to Florida and Texas, in the United States. Some scientists argue that the scarlet ibis of Central and South America is really just a red-colored white ibis.
Adult white ibis have white feathers with black wing tips. Their bare face and bill are red. When they are ready to breed, all or part of the end of their bills turn almost black in color. They develop red swollen pouches on their throat, almost as if they had the mumps!
Young birds are easy to identify. Chicks and nestlings are gray. They are brown with white bellies for the first 2 years of life. As they mature, they molt (shed) their brown plumage and grow white feathers. By the time they are fully grown, they will be about 23-27" (58-69 cm) long from beak to tail, with a wingspan of 3'2" (97 cm).
White ibis live in the wetlands of the interior and coastal marshes and swamps. They eat crabs and crayfish, and they feed in very large groups. To find their food, they probe with their long bills into the mud as they slowly walk along. They can pick insects off the dry ground as well. When they move from the feeding site back to the colony, they typically fly together as a flock.
White ibis nest in huge, dense colonies of thousands of pairs of birds. The male selects the place in the tree or shrub where the nest will be built. He then brings sticks and leaves to his mate, who actually constructs the nest. The female usually lays 3 eggs. Both male and female will take turns incubating the eggs and feeding the young.
The main conservation concerns for white ibis are hunting and habitat loss. Birds and eggs are hunted for food. When the colony is disturbed by hunting, adults will leave their nests and the young may die. If the disturbance is great enough, the birds will leave the colony altogether. Protection of the wetland habitats where ibis feed and breed is critical to the future of these incredible birds.