Monday 17 March 2014

Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus)

OTHER NAMES: Black Curlew
Latin Etymology: Plegadis ("sickle" in Greek) falcinellus (derived from sickle in Latin)
  Adult Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) in non-breeding plumage at Lowdam, Nottinghamshire - March 2014

Featured Subspecies: N/A
Weight: 485-580g  /  Length: 48-66cm  /  Wingspan: 80-95cm
NO UK STATUS / IUCN Red List Status: Least Concern

The Glossy Ibis is the only Ibis species which naturally occurs in the UK - it is an approximately mallard sized bird that arrives in this country as a vagrant, although increasingly so.  It seems to settle in marshland and wet meadows where it probes the ground with its long curved beak.  It is a cosmopolitan species, found on every continent but declining across Europe - apparently the British individuals are from Spain, one of the few places where the population is increasing.

Related Species:
Order: Pelecaniformes
Family: Threskiornithidae
Genus: Plegadis
Subspecies: None - monotypic

UNITED KINGDOM - A regular vagrant, getting increasingly common
 - A single vagrant bird seen at Lowdam seen in March 2014.

Further Notes: BirdForum Opus, IUCN Red ListRSPBWikipedia, Xeno-canto

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