Scarlet Ibis

Detail about Scarlet Ibis:

The Scarlet Ibis its found in South America and the Caribbean Islands. It's one of the Species is "E. ruber". The Scarlet Ibis are the family "Threskiornithidae" and the order of "Pelecaniformes". A single genus is "Eudocimus". Scarlet Ibis scientific name is "Eudocimus ruber". The Mass of this bird is "620 g(Adult)" and it's Length is "66 cm". It's conservation status is Least concern (Population Decreasing). The Scarlet Ibis is the only shorebird with red coloration in the world.

Description:

Adult plumage is virtually all scarlet. The feathers may show various tints and shades, but only the tips of their wings deviate from their namesake color. A small but reliable marking, these wingtips are a rich inky black (or occasionally dark blue) and are found only on the longest primaries – otherwise the birds' coloration is "a vivid orange-red, almost luminous in quality." Scarlet ibises have red bills and feet however the bill is sometimes blackish, especially toward the end. They have a long, narrow, decurved bill. Their legs and neck are long and extended in flight.

A juvenile scarlet ibis is a mix of grey, brown, and white. As it grows, a heavy diet of red crustaceans produces the scarlet coloration. The color change begins with the juvenile's second moult, around the time it begins to fly: the change starts on the back and spreads gradually across the body while increasing in intensity over a period of about two years. The scarlet ibis is the only shorebird with red coloration in the world.

Adults are 55–63 centimetres (22–25 in) long, and the males, slightly larger than females, typically weigh about 1.4 kilograms (3.1 lb). Their bills are also on average around 22% longer than those of females. The life span of the scarlet ibis is approximately sixteen years in the wild and twenty years in captivity. An adult scarlet ibis has a wingspan of around 54 centimetres (21 in). Though it spends most of its time on foot or wading through water, the bird is a very strong flyer: they are highly migratory and easily capable of long-distance flight. They move as flocks in a classic V information.

Distribution and habitat:

The range of the scarlet ibis is very large, and colonies are found throughout vast areas of South America and the Caribbean islands. Native flocks exist in Brazil; Colombia; French Guiana; Guyana; Suriname; and Venezuela as well as the islands of the Netherlands Antilles, and Trinidad and Tobago. Flocks gather in wetlands and other marshy habitats, including mud flats, shoreline and rainforest. There is an outlying colony in the Santos-Cubatão mangroves of Baixada Santista district in southeastern Brazil, which is considered critically endangered.

The highest concentrations are found in the Llanos region between western Venezuela and eastern Colombia. The fertile and remote tropical grassland plain of the Llanos provides a safe haven far from human encroachment. Together with its relative the bare-faced ibis, the scarlet ibis is remarkably prolific and conspicuous in the region.

Scarlet ibis vagrants have been identified in Belize, Ecuador, and Panama; Aruba, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, and Jamaica; sightings have even been made in the United States. The species may well have been a natural vagrant to the Gulf Coast in the 19th century or earlier – in The Birds of America, John James Audubon made brief remarks regarding three rubra specimens he encountered in Louisiana. However, virtually all modern occurrences of the species in North America have been introduced or escaped birds. In one notable example from 1962, scarlet ibis eggs were placed in white ibis nests in Florida's Greynolds Park, and the resulting population hybridised easily, producing "pink ibises" that are still occasionally seen.

Relationship with humans:

The scarlet ibis and the cocrico are the national birds of Trinidad and Tobago. Both birds are featured on the coat of arms of Trinidad and Tobago. The cocrico is found on Tobago, Venezuela and Colombia. The scarlet ibis is associated with Trinidad; there are not documented records of the scarlet ibis on Tobago for the last fifteen years.

An important local habitat for the scarlet ibis is the wildlife sanctuary of Caroni Swamp of Trinidad, a 199 hectares (490 acres) wetland reserve first designated in 1953 specifically to provide a habitat for the scarlet ibis.

Using the bird as a literary symbol, American author James Hurst composed a popular short story, "The Scarlet Ibis" (1960). A more recent short story, "Scarlet Ibis" by Margaret Atwood, is included in Bluebeard's Egg (1983). The name also belongs to a book of verse by American poet Susan Hahn.

Scarlet Ibis Video:

Scarlet Ibis Basic Information:

Kingdom: Animalia.

Phylum: Chordata.

Class: Aves.

Order: Pelecaniformes.

Family: Threskiornithidae.

Genus: Endocimus.

Species: E. ruber.

Binomial Name: Eudocimus ruber.

Mass: 620 g (Adult).

Length: 66 cm.

Conservation Status: Least Concern (Population decreasing).