Facts About the White Ibis, a Florida Bird

The White Ibis of Florida feeds in Florida's marshes, ponds, beaches and mowed lawns. The White Ibis may be called a Floridian or friendly neighborhood bird. It is quite something to be sitting down to a cup of tea one morning, or lunch in the afternoon, and see a flock of the snowy white birds against the green grass, shoving their curved, reddish-orange beaks into your lawn for a snack of insects and worms.

These migratory birds are easily seen in Florida's lake front areas, and any place where there is a body of water, but they love residential areas near water that have freshly mowed grass, for it makes their search for bugs as simple as the pelicans who dive for abundant bait fish in the ocean.

The White Ibis easily sticks its long beak into the soil, and eats up everything from amphibians, to worms and insects. They are often loosely called "rooters," for they can dig down through layers of soil expertly to get at the tasty morsels beneath the surface. They are not so much a nuisance to homeowners as say the Florida armadillo, that digs for truffles and can make quite large holes in the grass, for these birds have a long, yet narrow bill, somewhat like a precise instrument.

These birds are distinguishable by their total white feathered body appearance and long orange-red, curved beaks that go into the beginning of their faces with a small area of red orange as well, along with similar red orange color on medium length legs. Their legs are not as long as the egret, and their body size is smaller. Their legs are long enough to wade in shallow water, yet enable them to remain close enough to the ground while on dry land to dig deep for insects. They are basically the perfect size for land feeding.

What is interesting about the species, aside from their skills as insect foragers with power beaks, is that the grey birds are actually young birds, or "juvenile". They are not the homely female, which is often the characteristic for the grey colorless, or plainer birds in the animal and bird species. Both male and female are indistinguishable. They can fly, and are able to adapt to various ecosystems and travel in large flocks, sometimes up to twenty or more birds at a time.

These birds are seen throughout the spring and summer months in Florida. They like to hit the residential areas in spring, and are spotted frequently in the New Smyrna Beach/Edgewater area.

Source: Patuxent Bird Identification Info Center

http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/id/framlst/infocenter.html