Ibis

Ibis, common name for long-legged, long-necked wading birds related to spoonbills. Ibises are characterized by long, down-curving bills grooved above from base to tip. The birds average 61 cm (2 ft) in length and have short tails. They live in large flocks and feed on fish, frogs, toads, and small reptiles. Unlike herons, which fly with their necks crooked, ibises fly with their necks straight and their heads held forward.

Most species breed colonially, often with other water birds such as herons and cormorants, in warm regions. Their nests are placed in reedy marshes, on bushes, or in trees; the rare Northern bald ibis of Morocco is an exception, nesting on cliffs and rocky slopes. Ibises lay two to five whitish, pale blue, or pale green eggs, lightly spotted in some species.

The sacred ibis is widely distributed in Africa south of the Sahara. It has not bred in Egypt for more than a century, but in ancient times it was sacred to the Egyptians; ibises were often mummified and placed in tombs, and the ibis motif was common in Egyptian art. This species is white, with the featherless head and neck black.

The white ibis, a species with a scarlet face of naked skin, has been found from Baja California and South Carolina into South America. Closely similar except in color is the scarlet ibis of northern South America, which is noted for its beautiful red plumage. This fades to pink in zoo birds unless they are fed a special diet. The white-faced ibis, so called because a circle of white feathers surrounds the base of its bill, is a glossy reddish-brown species found from California and Kansas south to South America.

Several species of ibis that have been classified as critically endangered on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List of Threatened Species, meaning they are at risk of extinction. These species have included the giant ibis and the white-shouldered ibis, found in parts of Southeast Asia, and the northern bald ibis, found in parts of North Africa and the Middle East.

The wood stork of warmer parts of the Americas has often been called wood ibis, but it is a member of the stork family and not a true ibis.

Scientific classification: Ibises belong to the family Threskiornithidae. The Northern bald ibis is classified as Geronticus eremita, the sacred ibis as Threskiornis aethiopicus, the white ibis as Eudocimus albus, the scarlet ibis as Eudocimus ruber, and the white-faced ibis as Plegadis chihi.