Glossy Ibis

The glossy ibis is a medium-sized wader 48–61 cm long, with long legs and a slender, strongly downcurved bill. Breeding adults appear dark from a distance but show rich chestnut, purple, bronze and green iridescence in good light. The face is bordered by fine pale lines, while juveniles are duller brown with whitish streaks on the neck. In flight it holds the neck extended and trails its feet, often travelling in compact lines or loose flocks (Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife; New Zealand Birds Online).

It is the world's most widespread ibis, occurring across warm parts of Europe, Africa, Asia, Australia and the Americas. Flocks probe shallow marshes, floodplains, lake edges, estuaries and wet grassland by touch and sight, taking aquatic insects, crustaceans, worms, molluscs, frogs and some plant material. Both sexes build a bulky nest in reeds, shrubs or low trees, often within a mixed waterbird colony. The usual three or four eggs are incubated for about 20–22 days (Massachusetts Division of Fisheries and Wildlife; US Forest Service species account).