White-faced ibis

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White-faced ibis
Adult white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi)-4026.jpg
Adult white-faced ibis at the Sacramento National Wildlife Refuge
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Threskiornithidae
Genus: Plegadis
Species:
P. chihi
Binomial name
Plegadis chihi
(Vieillot, 1817)
Plegadis chihi map.svg
Synonyms
  • Plegadis falcinellus chihi
  • Plegadis falcinellus mexicana

The white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) is a wading bird in the ibis family, Threskiornithidae.

Contents

This species breeds colonially in marshes, usually nesting in bushes or low trees. Its breeding range extends from the western United States south through Mexico, as well as from southeastern Brazil and southeastern Bolivia south to central Argentina, and along the coast of central Chile. Its winter range extends from southern California and Louisiana south to include the rest of its breeding range.

Description

The white-faced ibis is very similar to the glossy ibis in its non-breeding plumages, but it tends to be slightly smaller and the plumage color is somewhat warmer. Breeding adults have a pink, bare face bordered with white feathers (rather than a bluish bare face with no bordering feathers), a grey bill, and brighter-colored, redder legs. Adults have red eyes year-round, whereas glossy ibises have dark eyes. Juveniles of the two species are nearly identical. [2]

Measurements: [3]

Distribution

The white-faced ibis occurs in Canada, the United States, and Central America, and a second subspecies inhabits the southern half of South America, east of the Andes Mountains. [1] In 2012, the total population size was estimated to be 1.2 million individuals, and increasing. The IUCN rates it as being of Least Concern. [1]

Migration and interchange between North and South American subspecies does not occur. Within North America, birds breeding in northern areas of the range move south to wintering areas. [4] For example, breeders in northern California and southern Oregon move to wintering areas in southern California and México or Central America. Some birds breeding in Yellowstone in Wyoming will overwinter in areas such as Texas and coastal Gulf of Mexico regions.

A flock of White-faced Ibis take flight. GR808841.jpg
A flock of White-faced Ibis take flight.

Origin

The white-faced ibis bears a strong resemblance to the related glossy ibis, and in the past was sometimes considered to be a subspecies of the glossy ibis. [5] Another theory was that a small population of glossy ibis dispersed to the Americas, which became isolated and evolved into a separate species. [6] However, recent molecular phylogenetic studies show that the white-faced ibis may actually be paraphyletic. [7] In fact, members of the white-faced ibis populations in the United States appear to be more closely related to glossy ibises than to members of white-faced ibis populations in Southern Brazil. [7]

Feeding

The white-faced ibis eats a variety of organisms, including many invertebrates such as insects, leeches, snails, crayfish and earthworms. It may also eat vertebrates such as fish, newts, and frogs. [8] [9] Its feeding style is to use its bill to probe for prey.

A White-faced Ibis in flight. GR808844-2.jpg
A White-faced Ibis in flight.

Breeding and nesting

Juvenile feeding Juvenile white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi)-4089.jpg
Juvenile feeding

This species breeds colonially in marshes, usually nesting in bushes or low trees. Its breeding range extends from the western United States south through Mexico, as well as from southeastern Brazil and southeastern Bolivia south to central Argentina, and along the coast of central Chile. Its winter range extends from southern California and Louisiana south to include the rest of its breeding range. The white-faced ibis chooses to nest in the parts of a marsh with dense vegetation [8] such as bulrush, cattails, shrubs, and short trees. [10] It will then build a nest from reeds. The white-faced ibis usually lays three or four blue-green eggs at a time. [6]

Lifespan

White-faced ibises in captivity live up to fourteen years on average. In the wild, white-faced ibises usually live for nine years; however, the oldest recorded wild white-faced ibis lived for fourteen years and six months. [10]

Threats

In the past, the white-faced ibis faced many threats from humans. Studies completed in Utah in the 1960s (before this species was added to the Migratory Bird Treaty Act) showed that 82.9% of recorded deaths in banded birds were a result of being shot. [5] However, the main causes of the decline of this species previously were pesticides and habitat destruction. [6] The pesticide DDT caused eggshells to be so thin and fragile that parent white-faced ibises crushed the eggs when they were incubating them. [6] Also, since this species is so dependent on wetlands and marshes for both feeding and nesting, changes to water systems such as pollution and man-made draining of water habitats had devastating impacts on members of this species in the past. [8] [9] In order to correct these damages, DDT was banned in 1970 and various programs were created to better maintain and protect wetland nesting habitats. [11] Yet, there is still some debate whether populations of white-faced ibises in all geographic areas are recovered and growing. [11]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Threskiornithidae</span> Family of birds

The family Threskiornithidae includes 36 species of large wading birds. The family has been traditionally classified into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills; however recent genetic studies have cast doubt on this arrangement, and have found the spoonbills to be nested within the Old World ibises, and the New World ibises as an early offshoot.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double-crested cormorant</span> Species of bird

The double-crested cormorant is a member of the cormorant family of water birds. It is found near rivers and lakes and in coastal areas and is widely distributed across North America, from the Aleutian Islands in Alaska down to Florida and Mexico. Measuring 70–90 cm (28–35 in) in length, it is entirely black except for a bare patch of orange-yellow facial skin and some extra plumage that it exhibits in the breeding season when it grows a double crest in which black feathers are mingled with white. Five subspecies are recognized. It mainly eats fish and hunts by swimming and diving. Its feathers, like all cormorants, are not waterproof, and it must dry them out after spending time in the water. Once threatened by the use of DDT, the numbers of this bird have increased markedly in recent years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">American white ibis</span> Bird in the ibis family

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Glossy ibis</span> Species of bird

The glossy ibis is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek plegados and Latin, falcis, both meaning "sickle" and referring to the distinctive shape of the bill.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northern bald ibis</span> An endangered migratory bird found in barren and rocky habitats

The northern bald ibis, hermit ibis, or waldrapp is a migratory Old World bird found in open areas such as grasslands, rocky habitats and semi-deserts, often close to running water. This 70–80 cm (28–31 in) glossy black ibis, which, unlike many members of the ibis family, is non-wading, has an unfeathered red face and head, and a long, curved red bill. It breeds colonially on coastal or mountain cliff ledges, where it typically lays two to three eggs in a stick nest, and feeds on lizards, insects, and other small animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green heron</span> Species of bird

The green heron is a small heron of North and Central America. Butorides is from Middle English butor "bittern" and Ancient Greek -oides, "resembling", and virescens is Latin for "greenish".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Little egret</span> Species of water bird

The little egret is a species of small heron in the family Ardeidae. It is a white bird with a slender black beak, long black legs and, in the western race, yellow feet. As an aquatic bird, it feeds in shallow water and on land, consuming a variety of small creatures. It breeds colonially, often with other species of water birds, making a platform nest of sticks in a tree, bush or reed bed. A clutch of three to five bluish-green eggs is laid and incubated by both parents for about three weeks. The young fledge at about six weeks of age.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dunlin</span> Species of bird

The dunlin is a small wader, formerly sometimes separated with the other "stints" in the genus Erolia. The English name is a dialect form of "dunling", first recorded in 1531–1532. It derives from dun, "dull brown", with the suffix -ling, meaning a person or thing with the given quality.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Swamp sparrow</span> Species of bird

The swamp sparrow is a medium-sized New World sparrow related to the song sparrow.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-headed ibis</span> Species of bird

The black-headed ibis, also known as the Oriental white ibis, Indian white ibis, and black-necked ibis, is a species of wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae which breeds in the South and Southeast Asia from India to the west and as far east as Japan. It is the only native ibis species in its range that has an overall white plumage with a black neck and head. The down-curved beak and legs are also black. Though often referred to as a wetland species, the black-headed ibis forages in a range of natural and man-made habitats. This species of ibis nests only during the rainy season.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Roseate spoonbill</span> Species of bird

The roseate spoonbill is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae. It is a resident breeder in both South and North America. The roseate spoonbill's pink color is diet-derived, consisting of the carotenoid pigment canthaxanthin, like the American flamingo.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green ibis</span> Species of bird

The green ibis, also known as the Cayenne ibis, is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae. It is the only member of the genus Mesembrinibis.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southern bald ibis</span> Species of bird

The southern bald ibis is a large bird found in open grassland or semi-desert in the mountains of southern Africa. Taxonomically, it is most closely related to its counterpart in the northern regions of Africa, the waldrapp. As a species, it has a very restricted homerange, limited to the southern tips of South Africa in highland and mountainous regions.

<i>Eudocimus</i> Genus of birds

Eudocimus is a genus of ibises, wading birds of the family Threskiornithidae. They occur in the warmer parts of the New World with representatives from the southern United States south through Central America, the West Indies, and South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Afghan snowfinch</span> Species of bird

The Afghan snowfinch or the Afghan ground-sparrow, bar-tailed snowfinch, Meinertzhagen's snowfinch, or Theresa's snowfinch, is a passerine bird of the sparrow family Passeridae, endemic to the northern parts of the Hindu Kush mountains in Afghanistan. There are no major threats to the species despite its restricted range, so it is assessed as least concern on the IUCN Red List. This species is mostly a seed-eater, supplementing its diet with some insects. It builds its nest in the burrows or hollows of ground-dwelling rodents, lined with hair or feathers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Buff-necked ibis</span> Species of bird

The buff-necked ibis, also known as the white-throated ibis, is a fairly large ibis found widely in open habitats of eastern and northern South America. It formerly included the similar black-faced ibis as a subspecies, but that species is almost entirely restricted to colder parts of South America, has a buff lower chest, and lacks the contrasting large white wing-patches.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rufous-vented ground cuckoo</span> Species of bird

The rufous-vented ground cuckoo is a Vulnerable species of cuckoo in the tribe Neomorphini of subfamily Crotophaginae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Panama, and Peru.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sharp-tailed ibis</span> Species of bird

The sharp-tailed ibis is a species of ibis native to open wet savannas in parts of northern South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Plumbeous ibis</span> Species of bird

The plumbeous ibis, also formerly called the blue ibis, is a large distinctive ibis species endemic to parts of central South America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campo flicker</span> Species of woodpecker

The campo flicker is a species of bird in subfamily Picinae of the woodpecker family Picidae. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Paraguay, Suriname, and Uruguay.

References

  1. 1 2 3 BirdLife International (2016). "Plegadis chihi". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22697426A93613243. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22697426A93613243.en . Retrieved 19 November 2021.
  2. "White-faced Ibis". Birding Hawaii. 2004. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2013-12-23.
  3. "White-faced Ibis Identification, All About Birds, Cornell Lab of Ornithology". www.allaboutbirds.org. Retrieved 2020-09-26.
  4. "White-faced Ibis". Audubon. 13 November 2014.
  5. 1 2 Ryder, Ronald. (1967) “Distribution, Migration and Mortality of the White-Faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) in North America”. Bird-Banding 38: 257-277.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Audubon White-faced Ibis , Retrieved 11 April 2014
  7. 1 2 Ramirez, J. L., C. Y. Miyaki, and S. N. Del Lama. "Molecular phylogeny of Threskiornithidae (Aves: Pelecaniformes) based on nuclear and mitochondrial DNA." Genetics and Molecular Research 12.3 (2013): 2740-2750.
  8. 1 2 3 Great Basin Bird Observatory White-faced Ibis , Retrieved 22 April 2014
  9. 1 2 Texas Parks and Wildlife White-faced Ibis , Retrieved 11 April 2014
  10. 1 2 Ryder, Ronald A. and David E. Manry.(2005)"White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi)”, The Birds of North America Online” (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online:,
  11. 1 2 D. Dark-Smiley and D. Keinath. (2003) “Species Assessment for White-faced Ibis”. United States Department of the Interior Bureau of Land Management.