Plumbeous Ibis

Theristicus caerulescens

The Birds of the World website introduces the Plumbeous Ibis with this descriptive information:  The Plumbeous Ibis is a distinctive, stocky ibis of the South American pampas. Adults are uniform dark blue-gray, with a bushy crest, a white forehead, red legs, a reddish eye, and a long, decurved gray bill. This species is found in open, grassy habitats, both dry and wet, from Bolivia and central Brazil south to northern Argentina and Uruguay. Singles or paris forage for insects and molluscs by probing mud with its bill. Pairs are also solitary nesters, building a platform of twigs in a tree near water.

I met my first on Friday afternoon, August 25, 2023.  Our Jeff Parker Tour group was staying at Southwild’s Jaguar Flotel and on this afternoon we were on a boat excursion exploring neary waterways when we spotted three juvenile Plumbeous Ibis, perched high in a tree near the river bank.  For details of my Brazilian trip that include the sighting of this bird, look here.  Below are a couple of my photos of these unique birds.