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 One of the
most numerous wading birds in Florida, and common elsewhere in the southeast. The White
Ibis is highly sociable at all seasons, roosting and feeding in flocks, and nesting in
large colonies. Note the red face, long decurved red bill, and restricted black wingtips. |
| Immature white ibis are dark brownish with a white belly, white rump, and curved red
bill. In flight, the neck is outstretched; the flocks fly in strings, flapping and gliding
and often soar in circles. The White Ibis is about 22-27 inches tall. White Ibis inhabit
salt, brackish, and fresh marshes, rice fields, mangroves. They may forage in any kind of
shallow water, commonly flying to feed in fresh water even in coastal regions. Foraging
sites include marshes, mudflats, flooded pastures, lake edges, mangrove lagoons, and
grassy fields. Their diet is varied and includes many crustaceans, with crayfish and crabs being major items. They also eat insects, snails, frogs, marine worms, snakes, and small fish. It forages by walking slowly in shallow water, sweeping its bill from side to side and probing at the bottom. White Ibis also forage on land, especially on mud or in short grass. It finds its food by touch while probing, by sight at other times, seizing items from the surface. White Ibises may steal food from each other and, in turn, have food stolen from them by larger species.
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The White Ibis breeds in colonies, sometimes mixed with other wading birds.
Displays of the male include ritualized preening, leaning over and grasping a twig in its
bill, pointing his bill skyward and lowering his head onto his back. Nest sites are in
mangroves, trees, and thickets, usually 2-15 feet above ground or water, sometimes higher
or on the ground. The nest is built by both sexes, with the male bringing most material,
and the female doing most of the building. Nesting material is often stolen from nests of
other pairs. The nest is usually a platform of sticks, sometimes of cordgrass or reeds. Up
to 5 eggs are laid, they are pale blue-green to white, blotched with brown. Incubation is
by both sexes, and averages 21 days. Both parents feed the young, by regurgitation. The
young may clamber about near the nest after 3 weeks, and can make short flights after 4-5
weeks, are capable of sustained flight at 6 weeks, and may leave the colony to forage with
adults after 7 weeks
