Glossy Ibis

The glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek plegados and Latin, falcis, both meaning "sickle" and referring to the distinctive shape of the bill.

Scientific Name : Plegadis Falcinellus

Family : Threskiornithidae

Order : Pelecaniformes

Class : Aves

Type : Ibises And Spoonbills

Conservation Status : Least concern (LC)

Size : 48 – 66 cm

Compare Size : Kite

Wingspan : 80 – 105 cm

Weight : 485 - 970 g

Migratory : Resident Migrant

Sex Alike : Yes

Nesting Season : May - July

Other Names :

Hindi : कोवर, छोटा बाज

Marathi : चिमणा कंकर

Habitat:
feed in very shallow water and nest in freshwater or brackish wetlands with tall dense stands of emergent vegetation such as reeds, papyrus or rushes) and low trees or bushes. They show a preference for marshes at the margins of lakes and rivers but can also be found at lagoons, flood-plains, wet meadows, swamps, reservoirs, sewage ponds, paddies and irrigated farmland.

Breeding:
2 - 3, Blue - Green

Feeding:
larval insects such as aquatic beetles, dragonflies, damselflies, grasshoppers, crickets, flies and caddisflies, Annelida including leeches, molluscs (e.g. snails and mussels), crustaceans (e.g. crabs and crayfish) and occasionally fish, amphibians, lizards, small snakes and nestling birds.


Identification Features

Male & Female
Head In Non-breeding plumage chocolate-brown with with white striations; In Breeding plumage reddish-brown without striations
Lores dark-grey bare skin; bordered above and below in dull blue-grey (looks white from distance) in Non-breeding plumage and cobalt-blue in Breeding plumage
Neck In Non-breeding plumage chocolate-brown with with white striations; In Breeding plumage reddish-brown without striations
Bill In Non-breeding plumage grey with very little pink colouration; In breediing plumage more pink
Wing In Breeding plumage shiny bottle-green, In Non breeding pumage less of shiny bottle-green
Underparts In Non-breeding plumage chocolate-brown; In Breeding plumage reddish-brown
Legs In Non-breeding plumage grey; In Breeding plumage reddish/pink-brown

Gallery

SIGHTINGS

Date Location
2019-03-02 02 Mar 2019 Bird Watching Area, Bhandup West, Mumbai, Maharashtra
2019-01-31 31 Jan 2019 Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Rajasthan
2019-02-01 01 Feb 2019 Bharatpur Bird Sanctuary, Rajasthan

Similar Birds

(Ibises And Spoonbills)