White-faced Ibis

White-faced Ibis, nesting adult; this species usually nests in low trees and shrubs over shallow water.

About the photographs

About the map

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1. Description
2. Similar Species
3. Sound
4. Range
5. Other Names

A dark wading bird with a long, down-curved bill, the White-faced Ibis is a western replacement for the Glossy Ibis. Similar in appearance and habits, the two species can be distinguished only by slight differences in coloring of the face and legs.

Description

• Size: 46-56 cm (18-22 in)
• Weight: 450-525 g (15.89-18.53 ounces)

• Long, down-curved bill.
• Long dark legs.
• Body all dark.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Immature

Similar to adult, but with dark banded bill and duller body.

Similar Species

• Herons have straight, not curved bills.
• Glossy Ibis is extremely similar, but shows an incomplete white border around the face during breeding season that is broken at the back, has dark eyes and face, and black legs.

Sound

Nasal moaning "urm." Croaks and rattles at breeding colony.

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

About the map

Summer Range

Breeds across western United States northward to Montana, eastward to western Louisiana, and southward to South America.

Winter Range

Winters from southern California and Louisiana southward.

Other Names

Ibis á Face Blanche, Bec Crosha, Pêcheur (French)
Cuervo de Cañada (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Ryder, R. A., and D. E. Manry. 1994. White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi). In The Birds of North America, No. 130 (A. Poole and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences; Washington, D.C.: The American Ornithologists' Union.