A medium-sized white wading bird with a long down-curved red-orange bill and black wingtips visible in flight. State bird of the University of Miami's mascot. Increasingly seen probing suburban lawns for grubs.
§ Quick facts
§ Encyclopedia
The American white ibis is a species of bird in the ibis family, Threskiornithidae. It is found from the southern half of the US East Coast, along the Gulf Coast states and south through most of the Caribbean coastal regions of Central America. This particular ibis species is a medium-sized wading bird, possessing an overall white plumage with black wing-tips, and having the typical downward-curving bill of the ibises, though of a bright red-orange color, the same hue as its long legs. Males are larger and have longer bills than females. The breeding range runs along the Gulf and Atlantic Coast, and the coasts of Mexico and Central America. Outside the breeding period, the range extends further inland in North America and also includes the Caribbean. It is also found along the northwestern South American coastline in Colombia and Venezuela. Populations in central Venezuela overlap and interbreed with the scarlet ibis. The two have been classified by some authorities as a single species.
Source: Wikipedia — American white ibis Licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0
§ Identification
Field marks. White wading bird with long down-curved red-orange bill and black wingtips.
Similar species. Glossy Ibis (dark). Roseate Spoonbill (pink, different bill).
Voice. Generally silent; grunts at colonies.
§ Diet & behavior
Diet. Aquatic invertebrates, small fish.
Behavior. Forages by probing in mud with curved bill. Forms breeding colonies.
§ Range
Southeastern US coastal plain, Caribbean, Central America
§ Habitat
Coastal marshes, mangroves, mudflats, lawns
§ Threats
Coastal wetland loss, water management altering food availability, climate change.
§ Conservation status
According to the IUCN Red List, the american white ibis is currently classified as Least Concern.
§ What helps
Support coastal wetland restoration. Skip lawn pesticides (kills their grub prey). Allow ibis to forage on lawns.
§ Further reading
- Wikipedia — American white ibis
- www.allaboutbirds.org — authoritative profile of Eudocimus albus
- IUCN Red List · taxon 22697534
- iNaturalist · taxon 3895
- eBird · whiibi
- GBIF occurrence records
- Encyclopedia of Life — Eudocimus albus
§ Sources cited
- Cornell Lab — All About Birds
- National Audubon Society
- iNaturalist
- IUCN Red List 2018
