Bare-faced Ibis (Phimosus infuscatus)

Identification & Behavior: ~50 cm (19 in). The Bare-faced Ibis is uniformly black or glossy black depending on the time of the year and age of the plumage. The long decurved bill and the bare front of the head are dull reddish to bright reddish. The relatively short legs are also reddish. The color of legs, bill, and bare face vary during an annual cycle or breeding schedules. It forages in wet grasslands and borders of bodies of water. It is similar to the Puna Ibis but their ranges do not overlap.

Status: The Bare-face Ibis appears to have started an expansion of its traditional range. Sight records come from the Napo and Amazon Rivers. The species is currently considered a vagrant, but it may start breeding in the Loreto Region in the future. It also occurs in Co, Ec, Bo, and Br.

Name in Spanish: Ibis de cara desnuda.

Sub-species: Bare-faced Ibis (Phimosus infuscatus), berlepschi (Hellmayr 1903).

Meaning of Name: Phimosus Gr. phimoō= to be silent. infuscatus: L. infuscus= dusky, blackish, infuscatus= dusky.

See more of the Family Threskiornithidae