Birds of Southeast Florida

The Glossy Ibis

Most

of the year, Glossy Ibises (Plegadis falcinellus) are rather drab wading birds which rarely command our attention. However, in breeding season, their coloration changes so significantly, as with wood ducks, that it is hard to take your eyes off them. There are 26 genera of ibis worldwide, three of which: the white, the white-faced and the glossy, are found in the United States. Normally, the glossy ibis is a large dark, mostly dull brown, wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae. They have dark facial skin, bordered by dull white to gray line, dark brown eyes, a long sickleshaped grayish bill and long, brownish gray legs. As adults, they are from 19 to 26 inches long, with a wingspan of 36 to 39 inches, and they weigh some nineteen ounces. However, in breeding season, they have dark chestnut to maroon plumage glossed with metallic purples and greens through the body, wings and tail; the colorful face is photo by Dick Moran © 2008

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bordered by a pale blue line and there may be a pinkish or red tint to their gray-green legs, particularly at the joints. The Ibis originated in Africa. They were considered sacred in ancient Egypt, with some regarded as the reincarnation of Gods. Thoth, the Egyptian god of the Moon, had the form of an ibis-headed man. At that time, the white ibis represented learning and wisdom; the glossy ibis represented sorrow or grief. For several centuries in ancient Egypt the killing of an ibis was punishable by death. It is believed that ibises crossed the Atlantic from Africa to northern South America and later expanded their range into the U. S. through the Caribbean region. While a relatively recent addition to the U.S., arriving in the mid 19th century, the glossy ibis has considerably expanded its range since that time; in North America, it is found as far north as Maine and the Great Lakes; it is now found throughout the world, on every continent except Antarctica. Glossies are gregarious, often flying in lines or groups; in flight the head and neck are extended, unlike herons and egrets. Glossies can be found in a wide variety of wetlands, including coastal islands and bays, estuaries, brackish and saltwater marshes, flooded fields and swamps. They forage for fiddler crabs, small fish, frogs and other water creatures, insects, worms and small snakes, including the poisonous water moccasin. Crawfish are a major staple of their diet in freshwater. The ibis will frequently feed communally with birds such as the snowy egret. It is thought that because the ibis forages by feel with its long bill, it stirs up extra food for the egret, which forages by sight. The egret gains some food, the ibis gains the advantage of an extra lookout for predators. Most ibis breeding sites are concentrated in Florida and Louisiana, though the glossy breeds irregularly along the Atlantic coast from southern Maine, through Florida and across the Gulf of Mexico to Texas. Glossy ibises are monogamous, nesting in small colonies with other wading birds such as herons and egrets, and have one brood per year. Nests are constructed of twigs and sticks placed in trees up to ten feet off the ground. The female will lay three to four pale blue or green eggs; both parents take part in the incubation, though it appears that most of the work is done by the mother. The eggs hatch in 21 days and both parents feed the chicks regurgitated food from their open bills; the chicks remain in the nest for three to four weeks. At four weeks, the chicks move into nearby branches, returning to the nest only at night for feeding. At about six weeks, the chicks begin to accompany the parents to foraging sites. The chicks are fully independent by eight weeks. The greatest threat to the glossy ibis is habitat destruction of their feeding and nesting areas. While threatened in some states, most populations, including Florida's, appear to be stable and growing. That is great news for those of us living here! By Dick Moran, a retired federal official who lives in Lakewood Ranch and enjoys learning about and photographing birds out east. www.LivingOutEast.com 31

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