American White Ibis: a two-minute wildlife lesson

Storks and Ibises · day 2 of 7

Five facts

1. This ibis hunts by touch. It pokes its curved bill into the bottom of shallow water and feels for prey it never sees.
2. Its menu depends on where it lives: mostly crayfish in Everglades swamps, mainly fish in willow ponds, and crabs in mangroves.
3. Its bill and legs are red-orange most of the year. In the first days of the breeding season, the bill goes deep pink and the legs almost purple.
4. Parents take shifts with their chicks: the father stays near the nest most of the day, the mother most of the night.
5. Florida is its stronghold. Over 30,000 white ibises have been counted in one single breeding colony there.

The quiz

1. How does the white ibis find food in shallow water?

• By diving in from high in the air
• By feeling with its bill (correct)
• By sniffing the water
• By listening underwater

It probes the bottom and feels for prey it does not see.

2. What do white ibises in mangrove swamps mostly eat?

• Grain
• Berries
• Seeds
• Crabs (correct)

Those feeding in mangrove swamps focus on crabs.

3. What colour do its legs turn early in the breeding season?

• Almost purple red (correct)
• Bright yellow
• Black
• White

The legs darken to an almost purple-tinted red.

4. Which parent stays near the nest most of the night?

• The father
• The mother (correct)
• The oldest chick
• A neighbour ibis

Males are there most of the day, females most of the night.

5. How many white ibises have been counted in one Florida colony?

• About 50
• About 300
• Over 30,000 (correct)
• About 3,000

Over 30,000 were counted in one breeding colony in Florida.

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