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Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) Alternate name(s): Misnomer: "Black Curlew" German name(s): "Braunsichler", "Brauner Sichler" Size: 48-66 cm; wing span: 80-105 cm Body mass: 485-970 g

Europe: Family Group 5 Family Group 5 Table Great Egret Little Egret Western Cattle Egret Grey Heron Purple Heron Striated Heron Black-crowned Night Heron Squacco Heron Green Heron Eurasian Bittern Little Bittern Eurasian Spoonbill Glossy Ibis White Stork Black Stork Greater Flamingo Thumbnails page Family group table Index of bird names German birds home page

Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description Click here for a physical description Glossy Ibises are medium-sized aquatic birds. During the breeding season they have glossy brown plumage on the head, neck and back, while the iridescent wing feathers produce a greenish-black sheen. In eclipse both head and neck lose their glossy appearance and become duller, with greyish streaks. Also the facial border becomes less pronounced. The irises are dark. The long, down-curved bill, the legs and feet are greyish-brown. At a distance, or depending on light conditions, Glossy Ibises can appear to look turquoise-brown, dark-brown or all-black, especially when seen with illumination from behind. Juvenile Glossy Ibises have a greyish streaked head and neck, similar to non-breeding adults.

Taxonomy, classification See Glossy Ibis at Wikipedia .

Range, habitat, finding this species Click here for information on habitat and range The overall distribution of this species can be assessed, and specific locations where birds have been spotted can be found, based on individual sighting reports submitted by birdwatchers to ebird.org . The global distribution of the Glossy Ibis is available HERE . Glossy Ibises are globally the most widespread species of ibis. They were originally found in (parts of) Europe, the Middle East, Arabia, Asia, Africa and Australia. Quite recently (in the 19th century) they have made the jump from western Africa to Brazil and from there started colonizing the Americas (mostly central and northern America). Within this range they have a preference for temperate to warm climate zones and they are highly migratory and dispersive. In Europe Glossy Ibises are only found as breeding migrants around the Mediterranean coastline, the Black Sea and the northern Caspian Sea coastline and in some locations along the river Po and the lower Danube, up to the Hungarian Pusta. Glossy Ibises are usually found in various types of freshwater wetlands and grassland, including ephemeral wetlands such as flooded grassland.

Sightings Click here for sighting information J. Pires reports spotting Glossy Ibises occasionally in the area from the Tejo estuary to Mora, Evora, Portugal. In this region Glossy Ibises are known to breed and stay all year round. A. Sarok found Glossy Ibises in Vojvodina, Serbia, in the timeframe 2010-2024. Additional photos shown below were taken by M. Eaton in Egypt. Glossy Ibises are a global species that we have also found in Australia and in Oman.

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Lateral view of a Glossy Ibis in breeding plumage foraging in a meadow
(photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Lateral view of 3 Glossy Ibises in breeding plumage foraging in a meadow
(photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Lateral view of 4 Glossy Ibises in breeding plumage foraging in a meadow
(photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Family of Glossy Ibises feeding in an irrigated rice field; an adult in breeding plumage is visible on the right
(photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2018]

Lateral view of a Glossy Ibis in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Amieira, Coruche, Santarem, Portugal, June 2020]

Near-dorsal view of a Glossy Ibis in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a Glossy Ibis in breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of A. Sarok)
[Vojvodina, Serbia, date unknown]

Additional information

We have taken more photos of Glossy Ibises in breeding plumage in Australia.

NON-BREEDING

Near-lateral view of a Glossy Ibis moulting into non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Near-lateral view of a Glossy Ibis in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Azud del Guadiana, Badajoz, Granada, Spain, January 2021]

Lateral view of a Glossy Ibis moulting into non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Close-up lateral view of a Glossy Ibis in non-breeding plumage; note the streaking on head and neck; given the season (March), this bird is probably a one year-old non-breeder (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, March 2016]

Lateral view of a Glossy Ibis in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Volta do Vale, Coruche, Santarem, Portugal, September 2024]

Lateral view of a Glossy Ibis in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

Lateral view of a Glossy Ibis in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

Lateral view of a preening Glossy Ibis in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a Glossy Ibis in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[November 2017]

Near-lateral view of a Glossy Ibis in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Lateral view of Glossy Ibises in non-breeding plumage in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Lagoa de Melides, Grandola, Setubal, Portugal, October 2020]

Glossy Ibises flying in formation; the gaps in the primaries indicate that these ibises are moulting into non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2018]

Large flock of Glossy Ibises rising (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, December 2017]

Large numbers of Glossy Ibises flocking in winter (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, January 2019]

Overwintering Glossy Ibises in flight; click on image to also see a flock of Eurasian Spoonbills (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo Estuary, Portugal, December 2017]

Additional information

We have taken more photos of Glossy Ibises in Australia and Oman.

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Lateral view of a Glossy Ibis in non-breeding plumage, resting with two juveniles (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Volta do Vale, Coruche, Santarem, Portugal, September 2024]

Lateral view of a juvenile Glossy Ibis; note the short bill and the dull-green sheen (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Lateral view of juvenile Glossy Ibises; we have not seen white spots on the head anywhere else (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, July 2019]

Near-dorsal view of a juvenile Glossy Ibis (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Vila Franca de Xira, Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2020]

Near-dorsal and dorsal views of juvenile(?) Glossy Ibises (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Family of Glossy Ibises feeding in an irrigated rice field; a juvenile can be seen near the centre (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Near Mora, Evora, Portugal, June 2018]

Near-dorsal view of a juvenile(?) Glossy Ibis in flight (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Tejo estuary, Portugal, August 2019]

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal

Mobility: Migratory

Elementary unit: Covey/flock

In Europe, Glossy Ibises are summer breeding migrants to marshes and estuaries along the Mediterranean coastal fringe, the Danube delta and the northern coastline of the Black Sea. They breed colonially and also feed and migrate in groups or flocks.

Outside the breeding season, Glossy Ibises can form large flocks; here part of a flock feeding in shallow water - click on image to see a wider field-of-view (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sado river, Mourisca, Setubal, Portugal, January 2021]

Food, Diet

Ibises feed on small animals that they pull out of mud or soft soil.

Near-dorsal view of a Glossy Ibis carrying away its prey (photo courtesy of J. Pires)
[Sorraia River, Santa Justa, Coruche, Santarem, Portugal, September 2020]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

We will try to replace this poor recording with a better one as soon as possible.

glibis_20161221.mp3

(N NSW)

Warning/departure (partial recording)

© MD

More Glossy Ibis sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

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