American White Ibis (Juvenile)

Description:

These ibis were at a pond 100 feet from the gulf coast of Texas at Sea Rim State Park. The adult ibis is a medium-sized bird with an overall white plumage, bright red-orange down-curved bill and long legs, and black wing tips that are usually only visible in flight. The juveniles are brown and gray. Males are larger and have longer bills than females. The breeding range runs along the Gulf and Atlantic Coast, and the coasts of Mexico and Central America. Outside the breeding period, the range extends further inland in North America and also includes the Caribbean. It is also found along the northwestern South American coastline in Colombia and Venezuela. Populations in central Venezuela overlap and interbreed with the Scarlet Ibis. The two have been classified by some authorities as a single species. The diet consists primarily of small aquatic prey such as insects and small fishes. Crayfish are its preferred food in most regions. It is a tactile non-visual forager, whose main foraging behavior is probing with its beak at the bottom of shallow water to feel for and to capture its prey.