Order: Pelacaniformes
Family: Threskiornithidae
Size: up to 48 - 66 cm
Weight: up to 485 to 580 g
Key Features: With its long, slender, down-curved bill and magnificent plumage, the glossy ibis is a striking wading bird. In breeding plumage, the glossy ibis is rich chestnut on the head, neck, upper back and underparts, while the feathers of the lower back, wings and tail have a green, purple and bronze metallic sheen. The legs are generally dark brown to olive-grey, and the bill is usually grey or brownish. During the breeding season, the facial skin between the base of the bill and the eye appears blue-black in adult birds, with a distinctive edging of pale-blue skin above and below. The non-breeding plumage is similar, although much duller, appearing darker brown in colour, with dense white streaks on the head and neck. The male and female glossy ibis are similar in appearance, although the female is generally smaller. Immature glossy ibis appear similar to the non-breeding adults, with oily-green sheen to the feathers, a grey-brown head and neck and variable flecks of white on the forehead, throat and neck.
Voice: a variety of croaks and grunts, including a hoarse ‘grrrr’ made when breeding.
Breeding: Breeds colonially, in large, mixed-species aggregations which often number thousands of birds. The breeding season runs between March and May or coincides with the rainy season, depending on the location. Both the male and female help to construct the nest, which is typically a compact platform of twigs or reeds, lined with leaves and other soft vegetation. It is often built over or close to water, usually less than one metre off the ground, although occasionally up to seven metres. The female lays 3 to 4 eggs, which are incubated by both the male and female glossy ibis for a period of 20 to 23 days, with the female carrying out the greater share. The chicks are able to leave the nest after 8 days, although they do not fledge (take their first flight) until around 25 to 28 days after hatching.
Diet: generally feeds on the adults and larvae of various insects, as well as molluscs and crustaceans, but small vertebrates, such as fish, frogs, lizards and small snakes, are sometimes also taken when encountered. Plant material, such as cultivated rice and sorghum, may also supplement the diet in some areas.
Habitat: inhabits a wide variety of inland wetland habitats such as shallow lakes, swamps and marshes, ponds, rivers, floodplains, wet meadows and irrigated agricultural fields, as well as occasionally using coastal lagoons, mudflats and estuaries.
Habits: The glossy ibis is a ‘tactile forager’, locating prey items by touch as it probes the substrate with its long, curved bill. Touch sensors on the bill allow the bird to rapidly snap it closed when it encounters prey, while ridges along the bill ensure that prey is grasped firmly in place. After catching its prey, the glossy ibis lunges the head forward to send the prey item closer to the mouth, sometimes biting it several times before it is swallowed, or else allowing it to pass straight down the gullet whole.
Conservation Status: Least Concern on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species.
References:
del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A. and Sargatal, J. (1992) Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona.
Lippson, A.J. and Lippson, R.L. (2006) Life in the Chesapeake Bay, Third Edition. An Illustrated Guide to the Fishes, Invertebrates, Plants, Birds and Other Inhabitants of the Bays and Inlets from Cape Cod to Cape Hatteras. The John Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland.
Davis Jr, W.E., and Kricher, J. (2000) Glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus). In: Poole, A. (Ed.) The Birds of North America Online. Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca. Available at:
http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/545
BirdLife International (2014) Species factsheet: Plegadis falcinellus. Downloaded from http://www.birdlife.org on July 04th, 2014.
Photo Courtesy
Debivort, Licensed under CC BY-SA 2.5 via Wikimedia Commons
Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)
