This is another bird we saw at Parque das Aves in Foz do Iguacu (Bird Park in Iguazu Falls), Brazil. The scarlet ibis is an amazingly beautiful bird that I would love to see in the wild. It is virtually the same bird as the American white ibis that I have seen (posts here and here). As Wikipedia notes, it has "exactly the same bones, claws, beaks, feather arrangements and other features - their one marked difference lies in their pigmentation." However, despite the fact they interbreed, the distinctive color types remain.
They are not found in the portion of Brazil where we were. They are found mostly along the coast of northeastern South America and Caribbean islands just off the coast.
I would never have linked this to a regular white ibis. The color is so overwhelming, and it's hard to see anything else.
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