He was quite shy to have his picture taken. Hugging the opposite shore for a long time, he became almost invisible whenever he stopped wading. Finally he ventured further out, where his dark body showed up better against the lighter water.
He was all dressed up, wearing his breeding plumage to impress the ladies, but he was early to the party as there were no dancing partners to be found. The white outline around his eye distinguishes him, a white-faced ibis, from his cousin the glossy ibis.
Look at the pretty palette his wing feathers make - slate, mauve, light grey, green, tan, brown, maroon, all shimmering in their iridescence.
I was so glad to see him, never having seen one before. (It surprises me how much more I see, now that I am actually looking!)
The ibis is threatened by the loss of wetlands, and by exotic species, pollution, and pesticides.
In early European records, ibises were called black curlews, but no more. And even further back in time the name ibis comes from the Egyptian word "hab" which was a sacred bird of the Egyptians.
I like this bird
ReplyDeleteThanks, Josh! Me too, although my photos on here make him look bigger than he really was.
ReplyDeleteIs "palette" your word choice or do the guide/bird books use that term? Your photography is great, but as always, your writing is top notch.
ReplyDeletePalette was my word choice. A painter's palette is exactly what I thought of when I zoomed in on the back of this ibis. Even the shape seemed to match. Thanks for the feedback - I love it!
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