It’s a Glossy Ibis!

I spotted an unfamiliar bird foraging at the edge of a pond down at North River. It was not a typical heron or egret. The sickle-shaped bill indicated this was a species of ibis. It was a Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus). I’d seen birds like this in Florida, but never in this part of coastal North Carolina. This species tends to be uncommon unless you go to one of the remote parts of the Outer Banks where they nest in colonies with other wading birds. I considered myself fortunate to encounter this straggler in search of food.

As I watched and photographed the bird for about half an hour, it kept moving around the edges of this shallow freshwater pond, probing in the mud for insects and aquatic invertebrates.

The ibis seemed to change colors. Sometimes dark, sometimes in stunning colors.

The metallic sheen of the plumage gives it the name “Glossy” Ibis.

A white line extends around the eye, outlining the upper edges of the bill. Kind of like a touch of make-up to attract the opposite sex. To compare it to the White Ibis, click here.

Beautiful on land,
      Lovely in the air,
But birds of the water
      Of all, are most fair.
                 - Annonymous

Here are more photographs of ibises and wading birds…

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