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Black-faced Ibis
Theristicus melanopis

DESCRIPTION:
Black-faced Ibis
Bandurria Austral
Theristicus melanopis
Length: 750mm. Sexes alike. Bill black with greenish tip, bare part of face and gula black; iris reddish chestnut; forehead, crown and nape rusty chestnut, rest of head and neck ochraceous slightly rusty on hind neck and at base; upperparts brownish grey with dark brown fringe; lower back and rump brownish grey; tail and uppertail coverts black with green gloss. Wing coverts pale to silvery ashy grey; primaries and secondaries very dark brown to blackish with green sheen on secondaries, underside of wings blackish with a green gloss; breast ochraceous buff with a hint of whitish and a brownish grey band running across below the base of the neck. Belly, flanks, feathered portion of tibia and undertail coverts black.
Legs scarlet red. Juveniles: resemble adults but with buffy head and neck finely striated with blackish brown; bill is greenish grey; outer wing coverts grey spotted with dark brown on lesser wing coverts and striated in same colour on median and greater wing coverts; legs are deep pink. Habitat and behaviour: very abundant and easily recognised by its large size and coloration, long curved bill and characteristic loud metallic shriek. Found in all types of environments, both in wetlands and in barren Patagonian country, near woodlands or grass steppes; almost always in groups ranging from two to three pairs to fifty or more individuals. In feeding grounds it forages across fields walking endlessly at which time the groups are scattered; on occasion they may open their wings completely for a few seconds as if to fly off, and then they continue walking. They feed on all types of insects and their larvae, earthworms, grasshoppers, scorpions, crustaceans, amphibians, reptiles and occasionally a small rodent or bird. At the end of winter and during spring they can be seen soaring high in the thermal updrafts, circling for a long time, then plunging. At night they seek refuge in the top most branches of tall trees or in rocky gullies always near the water. They nest in colonies, their nests can be found in trees, in reed beds or ledges in rocky gullies or cliffs. Twigs, reeds and other dry grasses are employed to make a large platform where up to four ivory grey evenly speckled brown eggs are laid; both parents share incubation and rearing duties of chicks that are born with a dark grey down; chicks are altricial. Although in the open country they are not particularly tame, in urban areas where they are not hunted they become used to man and can live in squares and gardens; chicks are easily raised and domesticated; they recognise those who feed them but will attack with their bills any stranger that comes near. Young chicks are insatiable and as they grow older they follow their parents, constantly begging for food. Migratory, the birds of more southern distribution migrate to the centre of Argentina during autumn and return at the start of spring; however, several populations in the north of Patagonia remain year round. In the humid woodlands northeast of Chubut and Río Negro some populations differ notably in coloration of head and neck, showing the top of their head and base of neck a pale rusty reddish, neck and breast buffy cream and wing coverts grey with less silver on them; probably a race that has not been described yet. Range: distribution of the Black-faced Ibis includes Patagonia from Neuquén and Río Negro to Tierra del Fuego and Isla de los Estados; accidentals may reach Islas Malvinas.
Illustrated Handbook of the Birds of Patagonia
Kindness: Kovacs Family
 
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Photographs: Mariano Diez Peña


Birding Patagonia • Birdwatcing in Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina and Chile.
All Rights reserved. Reproduction of photographs is forbidden without permission from the authors.
Photographs on the website: Mariano Diez Peña