Tuesday, September 8, 2020

White-Faced Ibis

The white-faced ibis is similar to the glossy ibis, particularly in non-breeding plumage, however, they only overlap in portions of the southeast. In breeding season, the white-faced ibis gets a white border around its face and a pink bare patch on its face. The white-faced ibis tends to be found in the western U.S. and the glossy ibis in the eastern U.S. 


I'd read that the white-faced ibis is a summer resident of the Lower Klamath NWR and I hoped to see some, particularly since I've only seen one before and did not get a good photo of it. I saw two flying on the Tule Lake NWR, which is adjacent to the Lower Klamath NWR, and eventually spotted one feeding in the water in horrible light. I took 85 photos of it, putting my camera on the speed setting, in hopes of getting photos of the entire bill out of the water. Out of the 85, only 3 photos were relatively decent. In most, the bill was submerged in the water and mud seeking out food. This ibis was not in breeding plumage. 

1 comment:

  1. Love the beak--looks like a pair of slightly curved chopsticks. Also, I'm glad you have a digital camera. Back in the days of film, this would have broken the bank.

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