American White Ibis

Taxobox
name = American White Ibis
status = LC | status_system = IUCN3.1


image_width = 200px
regnum = Animalia
phylum = Chordata
classis = Aves
ordo = Ciconiiformes
familia = Threskiornithidae
genus = "Eudocimus"
species = "E. albus"
binomial = "Eudocimus albus"
binomial_authority = (Linnaeus, 1758)

American White Ibis ("Eudocimus albus") is a species of wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae which occurs from the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States south through most of the New World tropics.

s are typically laid. White ibises are monogamous and colonial, usually nesting in mixed colonies with other wading species.

This ibis feeds by probing with its long, downcurved beak. Its diet consists of various fish, frogs and other water creatures, as well as insects and small reptiles.

Adults are 65 cm long with a 95 cm wingspan. They have all-white plumage except for black wingtips (visible in flight) and reddish bills and legs. The red bill blends into the face of breeding birds; non-breeding birds show a pink to red face. Juveniles are largely brown with duller bare parts; they are distinguished from the Glossy and White-faced Ibises by white underparts and rumps. Over all both sexes look alike.

Like the other species of ibis, the White Ibis flies with neck and legs outstretched, often in long, loose lines.

The song of the male is an advertising "hunk-hunk-hunk-hunk". The female squeals. When feeding, the birds often give a soft, grunting "croo, croo, croo" as they forage.

This bird hybridizes with the Scarlet Ibis, and they are sometimes considered conspecific.

See also

* Australian White Ibis

References

* Database entry includes justification for why this species is of least concern
* Alsop, Fred J. III; "Birds of Texas". Smithsonian Handbooks: DK Publishing, Inc., New York, NY (2002).

External links

* [http://www.nearctica.com/birds/ibis/Ealbus.htm White Ibis page at Nearctica]
* [http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/White_Ibis.html White Ibis Species Account] - Cornell Lab of Ornithology
* [http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/i1840id.html White Ibis - "Eudocimus albus"] - USGS Patuxent Bird Identification InfoCenter
* [http://www.sdakotabirds.com/species/white_ibis_info.htm White Ibis Information] - South Dakota Birds and Birding