White-faced Ibis Identification Guide

Key Field Marks

• Size & shape: A medium-large wading bird, about 46-56 cm (18-22 in) long, with a long, decurved bill and long legs, typical ibis proportions.
• Plumage: Rich, iridescent chestnut-maroon body with green and bronze-purple gloss on the wings and back, appearing dark at a distance but glowing with color in good light.
• Face: In breeding adults, a narrow band of pinkish-red bare skin borders the base of the bill and eye, edged by a thin white feathered border, giving the species its name.
• Eye and legs: Red or reddish-brown iris and reddish legs in breeding condition, becoming duller (dark eye, gray-brown legs) in non-breeding birds and juveniles.
• Bill: Long, downcurved, dull grayish-brown to pinkish.

Similar Species

• Glossy Ibis: Extremely similar; best separated in breeding plumage by facial skin color, blue-gray bordered by thin blue lines (not pink/red bordered by white) in Glossy Ibis, and by dark (not red) legs and a brown (not red) eye. Ranges overlap in the central and eastern U.S.
• White Ibis: Adult is entirely white with black wingtips and an orange-red bill and legs, very different from the dark plumage of White-faced Ibis; only immature White Ibis (brownish) could cause brief confusion, but it has a white belly and rump.
• Non-breeding/juvenile birds: Glossy and White-faced Ibis are notoriously difficult to separate outside breeding plumage; leg color, facial skin extent, and range/habitat are the best clues, and some individuals may not be safely identifiable.

Behavior

• Forages by probing mud and shallow water with its long bill, often wading in flocks in marshes and flooded fields.
• Highly social, roosting, foraging, and flying in tight flocks, often mixed with other ibis or wading bird species.
• Flies with neck and legs outstretched, alternating flaps and glides, often in coordinated flock formation.

Habitat & Range

• Breeds in freshwater marshes across the western United States, the Great Plains, and parts of the Great Basin and Central Valley, with additional populations in South America.
• Winters along the Gulf Coast, in California, Mexico, and Central America.
• Uses marshes, wet meadows, flooded agricultural fields (especially rice fields), and shallow lake margins.

Voice

• Generally quiet, but gives low, nasal, grunting or oinking calls, especially around breeding colonies.

Seasonal Notes

• Breeding plumage with the bright facial skin and red legs/eye is best seen in spring and early summer at nesting colonies.
• Outside the breeding season, plumage becomes duller and facial skin less colorful, making identification from Glossy Ibis more challenging; check range, as White-faced Ibis dominates in the west while Glossy Ibis is more common in the east.