Visual Search | Wizard | Browse
Bird name:
Home| Search| Browser| Expert| Forum| Store| My WhatBird| Help| Site Map

Glossy Ibis

Plegadis falcinellusOrder: CICONIIFORMES Family: Ibises (Threskiornithidae)
Codes: Common Name: GLIB Scientific Name: PLEFAL ITIS Taxonomic No.: 174924
Least Concern
ask community
Glossy Ibis
Copyright © 2004 - 2008 Whatbird.com
whatbird search for your browser
whatbird search for your browser

Related Birds

White-faced Ibis
Splitbar
Rate this Illustration: Excellent Very Good Good
Fair Below Avg Poor

Birdman Mel's Backyard Tips
Clingers Only Feeder
Weather resistant inexpensive feeder is ideal for small birds.
Suet Delight
Easy to hang and maintain, holds all kinds of packaged suet.
Ultimate Woodpecker Feeder
Only allows woodpeckers to feed made of Inland Cedar.
The No-No Copper Feeder
Beautiful copper feeder holds 2.5 lbs of sunflower seeds.
Attracting Clingers

Overview

Glossy Ibis: Medium wading bird, iridescent bronze and red-brown overall with thin band of white feathers around bare dark blue face and long, down curved, gray bill. Eyes are dark, legs are yellow-gray. Alternates several shallow rapid wing beats and short glides. Flies in straight line formation.


Range and Habitat

Glossy Ibis: Most common in marshes and wetlands along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts; occasionally wanders inland. Scattered populations occur in and around the Caribbean Basin on the Yucatan Peninsula and northern Venezuela; also widespread in Eurasia, southeast Asia, Pacific Islands, Africa, and Australia.

whatbird search for your browser
whatbird search for your browser

Topo Map: Long-legged-like Body


Listen to Call

Voice Text

"huu-huu-huu"

Interesting Facts

 American populations of the Glossy Ibis are thought to have come from Africa in the 19th Century and have spread northward via the Caribbean.

 Once an uncommon bird in its U.S. range, it is steadily increasing in numbers and span.

 Unlike herons, ibises fly with their necks stretched out.

 A group of ibises has many collective nouns, including a "congregation", "stand", and "wedge" of ibises.


Bird Term Glossary



Author

Gary Owen Dick

Artist

4vdesign

Splitbar
No Map Available

.
Family
Species Plegadis falcinellus
Length23 Inches
Wingspan36 Inches

Glossy Ibis

Glossy Ibis: Medium wading bird, iridescent bronze and red-brown overall with thin band of white feathers around bare dark blue face and long, down curved, gray bill. Eyes are dark, legs are yellow-gray. Alternates several shallow rapid wing beats and short glides. Flies in straight line formation.

● Song: "huu-huu-huu"

● Foraging & Feeding: Glossy Ibis: Diet consists of crayfish and other invertebrates, as well as frogs, fish, and plants; eats crabs on the coast. Forages by probing mud with its long bill; often forages in flocks of dozens to hundreds of birds.

● Breeding & nesting: Glossy Ibis: One to five pale blue or green eggs are laid in a shallow cup of reeds, lined with grass, and built in a low bush, usually in a marsh. Nests in large colonies, often with other wading birds. Eggs are incubated for 21 days by both parents. Juveniles leave the nest in as soon as 8 days but do not fly until 28 days old.

● Similar species: Glossy Ibis: White-faced Ibis has a red- skinned face and red legs during the breeding season, with the white border on the face extending around the back of the eye and continuing under the chin.

Flight Pattern

Direct flight with purposeful wingbeats and short glides, characteristic profile due to outstretched drooping neck and slightly droopy legs.
Glossy Ibis Body Illustration
● Range & Habitat: Glossy Ibis: Most common in marshes and wetlands along the Atlantic and Gulf coasts; occasionally wanders inland. Scattered populations occur in and around the Caribbean Basin on the Yucatan Peninsula and northern Venezuela; also widespread in Eurasia, southeast Asia, Pacific Islands, Africa, and Australia.
BreedingMonogamous, Colonial
Population
MigrationNonmigratory
Weight19 - 22 Ounces
Long-legged-like BodyX
FaceX
The front part of the head consisting of the bill, eyes, cheeks and chin.
4 and 6 letter alpha codesX

The four letter common name alpha code is is derived from the first two letters of the common first name and the first two letters of common last name. The six letter species name alpha code is derived from the first three letters of the scientific name (genus) and the first three letters of the scientific name (species). See (1) below for the rules used to create the codes..

Four-letter (for English common names) and six-letter (for scientific names) species alpha codes were developed by Pyle and DeSante (2003, North American Bird-Bander 28:64-79) to reflect A.O.U. taxonomy and nomenclature (A.O.U. 1998) as modified by Supplements 42 (Auk 117:847-858, 2000) and 43 (Auk 119:897-906, 2002). The list has been updated by Pyle and DeSante to reflect changes reported by the A.O.U from 2003 through 2006.

Read more...
ITIS CodesX

The Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS) was established in the mid-1990�s as a cooperative project among several federal agencies to improve and expand upon taxonomic data (known as the NODC Taxonomic Code) maintained by the National Oceanographic Data Center (NODC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).

To find the ITIS page for a bird species go to the ITIS web site advanced search and report page at http://www.itis.gov/advanced_search.html. You can enter the TSN or the common name of the bird. It will return the ITIS page for that bird. Another way to obtain the ITIS page is to use the Google search engine. Enter the string ITIS followed by the taxonomic ID, for example "ITIS 178041" will return the page for the Allen's Hummingbird.

Read more...
Parts of a Standing birdX
Head Feathers and MarkingsX
Parts of a Flying birdX