White Ibis

White Ibis, adult

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White Ibis, juvenile

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

A wading bird of the deep South, the striking White Ibis is frequently seen on lawns looking for large insects as well as probing for prey along the shoreline.

Description

• Size: 56-68 cm (22-27 in)
• Weight: 750-1050 g (26.48-37.07 ounces)

• Long, down-curved, bright red bill.
• Long red legs.
• Body all white.
• Tips of wings black.

Sex Differences

Sexes look alike.

Immature

Shaped like adult, but with crown back, dusky neck, and orange bill. Older birds can be mottled brown and white.

Similar Species

• Egrets have straight bills and lack black wingtips.
• Wood Stork is much larger, has a dark, bare face and bill, and has extensive black in the wings.

Sound

Call a harsh, nasal "urnk, urnk."

Range

Range Map

© 2004 Cornell Lab of Ornithology

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Summer Range

Breeds along the Atlantic coast from North Carolina southward, along the Gulf Coast to Mexico, and throughout the Caribbean to South America.

Winter Range

Winters in breeding range as well as farther inland.

Other Names

Bec croche, L¿Ibis blanc, Petit flaman (French)
Corocoro blanco, Coco blanco, Ibis blanco, Coclito blanco (Spanish)

Sources used to construct this page:

Kushlan, J. A. and K. L. Bildstein. 1992. White Ibis (Eudocimus albus). In The Birds of North America, No. 9 (A. Poole, P. Stettenheim, and F. Gill, Eds.). Philadelphia: The Academy of Natural Sciences, Philadelphia.