White Ibis

The White Ibis is undoubtedly one of the most popular birds in the United States. You can find them in large numbers throughout the waters of Florida. They are generally social and amicable with other wading birds that are in their surrounding area. These birds are striking to the eye with their vivid white plumages and bright red legs, have captured the attention of Americans for centuries. These birds are so popular that they are the mascot of the University of Miami in Florida.

About White Ibises

You can find White Ibises throughout the wetlands that surround the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Mexico. Although their Florida populations are low, they have been expanding their range throughout the continent. As a result, their overall populations have improved significantly. These changes are due to their highly adaptive nature. Most birds choose to nest in colonies and change locations every breeding season.

White Ibises are iconic birds that are fascinating to all those who learn more about them. Today, we want to teach you more about these striking birds. We will be discussing:

● White Ibis Photos, Color Pattern, Song
● White Ibis Size, Eating Behavior, Habitat
● White Ibis Range and Migration, Nesting

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White Ibis Color Pattern

White Ibises are instantly recognizable because of their radiant white plumages. They are white all over and have bright pink bills and feet. The pink from their bills extends to encircle their eye in a pink circle. These colors are brought out by their pale blue irises which seem to match their white bodies. Depending on the season, their face and legs can shift from pink to red as well. These birds do not exhibit sexual dimorphism and both sexes look similar to each other in plumage.

Juveniles are clearly distinct from adults, with mostly brown plumages marked by a white rump and underparts. White Ibises and Scarlet Ibises look identical to each other in their youngest stages until White Ibises begin to develop the pink tinges that are associated with the adults.

Description and Identification

The easiest way to identify these birds is by their appearance. Their white bodies and pink bills and legs easily give them away, especially in contrast to the colors present in their wetland homes. They tend to move around in larger groups depending on the depth of the water. Shallow wetlands and flooded fields are the ideal locations for large flocks to forage in. These birds do not stalk their prey, unlike many other herons, choosing to spend more time walking through wetlands instead. Areas in southern Florida can find these birds walking through urban parks and lawns as well, as they tend to wander around shallow water bodies as well.

White Ibis Song

Like many other wading birds, White Ibises are relatively silent and do not have extensive vocal capabilities. When eggs hatch, the hatchlings have a begging call that is generally a high trill, but it can vary in tone and quality among different individuals. Flight calls for both sexes are the same as the primary advertising call for males, a coarse and raspy “hunk-hunk-hunk”, heard the most during the breeding seasons. Females may give out a squeal during courtship before mating, but these calls do not continue for long periods of time. When these birds roost together, soft and high-pitched notes are let out on occasion. Birds while foraging may also give out soft honk noises. Other than these noises, White Ibises don’t let out any other calls.

White Ibis Size

White Ibises are large wading birds around 22.1-26.8 inches long. They have heavy bodies that are the shape of a football. They weigh approximately 26.5-37 ounces. Their legs and neck are both very long. They hold their legs and neck out in a straight posture when they fly. White Ibis bills are long and decurved, pointing downwards at the tip. Males have larger bills than females. Although both sexes are similar to each other in plumage, females tend to be slightly smaller than males.

White Ibis Behavior

White Ibises walk slowly through shallow waters while they forage, unlike other Herons who stalk their prey through the same habitats. However, birds that are feeding in regions with more food supplies tend to walk much more rapidly, especially when they are reaching for fish in standing water. Individuals may even leap over one another when flocks are moving across feeding grounds. Although adults rarely climb except for when they move towards their day roosts, young ones are capable of climbing by small bushes by the end of their second week.

These birds are also strong fliers, taking strong strides with rapid wingbeats at heights anywhere between 200 and 3000 feet above the ground. They engage in bouts of acrobatics, especially when some individual birds free-fall into the roost. Flightless chicks swim if they happen to fall into the water.

Male White Ibises are fiercely protective and aggressive to intruders. They defend their territories, positions, and mates by thrusting their bills forwards and by jabbing and biting. When in a physical conflict with a rival male, birds bite each other and hold the opponent’s head or wing. Fights typically only occur between males that have similar bill lengths as they are important in determining the winner of the fight. Sometimes the fights can get very intense, with injuries like facial lesions and scars, eye injuries, and broken legs common after a fight. Females do not engage in fights but may be pecked around the head and back before and after the pair copulates. This may occasionally result in bleeding.

These birds are also social birds. They forage and fly in groups, and nest in colonies. Males gather in larger groups to attract females during the breeding season and perform displays that include head shaking, preening, group flights, bathing, and bill popping. Group baths in particular are very popular among the males, as they preen in front of females while nibbling on twigs with their bills. If a female reciprocates, the male grabs her head with his bill and
shakes it. The result of this courtship seems to lead to a monogamous pair, but there have been accounts of males mating with more than one mate.

White Ibis Diet

Like a majority of other wading birds, White Ibises are dependent on aquatic life in order to survive. They feed on insects and crustaceans beneath the surface of wetlands by sticking their bills into the soft sand and using them as a pair of tweezers to extract their prey. They generally feed on crayfish, earthworms, marine worms, snails, snakes, crabs, and other fish. White Ibises may also stab and pinch frogs, lizards, snails, and newts. While most of their prey is
swallowed in whole, some muddy items are carried away to be washed before consumption. They have also been observed to break harder crustaceans with their bill and remove claws from crabs and crayfish before eating them.

White Ibis Habitat

White Ibises forage in almost any kind of wetland with shallow waters. They occur in many different kinds of wetlands including swamps, mangroves, mudflats, lake edges, mangrove lagoons, grassy fields, flooded pastures, freshwater marshes, and shallow ponds. They tend to prefer wet areas with less than 8 inches of water and abundant sparse, short vegetation around the area. In recent years, populations around southern Florida have gotten used to humans and thus frequently go to lawns and parks to forage in. During the breeding seasons, they nest in colonies in trees and shrubs near fresh, brackish, or salt water. However, they prefer foraging in freshwater wetlands more frequently while nesting since young nestlings are not accustomed to consuming large amounts of salt. In
contrast, flocks seem to prefer coastal wetlands more during the nonbreeding seasons.

Range and Migration

These Ibises are the most common in Florida, where a single breeding colony may have as many as 30,000 birds. They also occur throughout the Caribbean, on both coasts of Mexico, Central America, and at regions as far south as Columbia and Venezuela. In North America, their breeding mainly takes place along the Atlantic Coast from North and South Carolina to Florida. Their nonbreeding range takes them further inland in the United States, usually around Virginia, and west to eastern Texas.

White Ibis Lifecycle

After a rather brutal courtship ritual, females lay 2-4 pale blueish-green to white eggs. On rarer occasions, they may lay as many as 5 eggs. Incubation is then carried out by both the parents for roughly 21 days, with members of the pair taking turns feeding each other. After the eggs hatch, the chicks emerge at a totally helpless state with closed eyes and some black and gray down feathers throughout their body. Both parents feed the young by regurgitation for nearly 3 weeks, but the chicks remain with their parents for as long as 7 weeks. The young are capable of making short flights after 4-5 weeks. They are capable of long, sustained flights after 6 weeks.

Nesting

Nest sites are selected by the females within the colony. They generally find sites in the forks of live or dead trees like black elderberry, red bay, black mangrove, willow, and cypress. If they can’t find a suitable location on high ground, they may nest in clumps of grasses or sedges. The average nest height is around 0.5-12 feet above the ground, with the location of the colony changing annually.

The construction of the nest is carried out by both members of the pair, with the male collecting most of the material while the female arranges them together. A platform of sticks is made with an indentation in the middle for the eggs to rest in. Once the eggs have been laid, the parents keep adding more material to the nest in order to maintain it. Material is often stolen from the nests of other colonies and can sometimes include items like cordgrass and reeds.

Anatomy of a White Ibis

White Ibises are large, long-legged wading birds with a body that resembles a football. They have long, thin, and decurved bills that are bright pink and contrast with their all-white bodies. They have bright pink legs that can deepen to a red depending on the season, and a matching pink patch around their eye. These stout birds have pale blue irises that stand out against their red faces.

Final Thoughts

White Ibises are some of the most recognizable birds in the United States. Their frequent historical interactions with human habitats have coupled with their iconic appearances and peaceful natures, setting these birds a class apart when compared to many other wading birds. They stand out in their environments.

While their populations in Florida have been consistently declining, their overall populations throughout other regions of the United States have gradually increased. This makes these birds all the more fascinating as their range might shift from as we know it in just a few decades. Regardless of how their range evolves in the coming years, these mascots of the University of Miami might just continue to surprise us!

Ornithology

Bird Watching Academy & Camp Subscription Boxes

At the Bird Watching Academy & Camp we help kids, youth, and adults get excited and involved in bird watching. We have several monthly subscription boxes that you can subscribe to. Our monthly subscription boxes help kids, youth, and adults learn about birds, bird watching, and bird conservation.

Bird Watching Binoculars for Identifying White Ibises

The most common types of bird watching binoculars for viewing White Ibises are 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. Bird Watching Academy & Camp sells really nice 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. You can view and purchase them here.

White Ibis Stickers

Stickers are a great way for you to display your love for bird watching and the White Ibis. We sell a monthly subscription sticker pack. The sticker packs have 12 bird stickers. These sticker packs will help your kids learn new birds every month.

Bird Feeders For White Ibises

There are many types of bird feeders. Bird feeders are a great addition to your backyard. Bird feeders will increase the chances of attracting birds drastically. Both kids and adults will have a great time watching birds eat at these bird feeders. There are a wide variety of bird feeders on the market and it is important to find the best fit for you and your backyard.

Best Bird Houses For White Ibises

There are many types of bird houses. Building a bird house is always fun but can be frustrating. Getting a bird house for kids to watch birds grow is always fun. If you spend a little extra money on bird houses, it will be well worth every penny and they’ll look great.