Red ibis | Facts & Information

Origin

It lives in swampy regions and river banks in northern and eastern South America, but also in Southern Central America. It is not a migratory bird.

The Ibis (Threskiornithinae) are part, like the lopatari, of the order Ciconiiformes, family Threskiornithidae, these are birds that live near water and have long and curved beak.

Ancient Egyptians worshiped Ibis, the birds being considered holy because they appeared during the floods caused by the Nile.

The Ibis appears mummified in tombs or on various ancient frescoes in Egypt. In Conrad Gesner's book, Historia Animalium is mentioned Geronticus eremita, a species of ibis that lived until the sixteenth century in the Alps and which, through hunting, deforestation and the expansion of cultivated lands, disappeared from Central Europe.

The ibis is also mentioned on Noah's Ark in the Bible.

Red Ibis Bird Feed

The red ibis is part of the order Pelecaniformes and the family Threskiornithidae.

Like other species, the red Ibis finds food using the sense of touch rather than the visual one.

He probes the soft mud with his long, curved beak, walking slowly through the swampy water. His favorite food consists of crustaceans, fish and aquatic insects.

It has a behavior similar to herons and other Ibis species, during the day it feeds on the ground, and in the evening it flies in the trees to rest and fend off predators.

Features Red Ibis Bird

The adult bird is 56-68 cm long, the wingspan is 85-95 cm and the weight is 775-925 g.

The plumage of the female is the same as that of the male. They have a red beak and legs, the head and neck are hollow.

Chickens have a brownish coloration with white areas.

Breeding Red Ibis Bird

During the breeding season, these brightly colored birds gather in large flocks of tens of thousands in the swampy coastal lands of northern South America, in mangrove areas and lagoons, and on tidal rivers.

Birds in a colony form pairs to mate. They build their nests in trees near the waters.

The female lays two to four eggs which she hatches herself.

It is bred in many zoos. In the wild it lives 15 years, in captivity about 20 years.