‘OUTSTANDING BILLS’: THE WHITE IBIS ON ABACO AND BEYOND
The AMERICAN WHITE IBIS (Eudocimus albus) has a wide range in the Americas and is a familiar species in the southern United States, especially Florida. It is also found in the Caribbean. On Abaco they are quite rare, appearing sporadically as winter residents. Encountering one is definitely a ‘find’. I know of only one recent sighting when an ibis decided to spend some time on the lake at Treasure Cay Golf Course. Luckily Kasia was not concentrating too hard on her round of golf to the exclusion of all else – and had a camera with her.
The white ibis is more common on other Bahamas islands, for example New Providence (Nassau). Here are some photos taken there by Tony Hepburn and Woody Bracey. Others were taken in Florida.
This is the call of an Ibis in the Florida Wetlands (credit Xeno-Canto / Paul Marvin)
Juveniles have dark plumage that gradually grows out as they age and is replaced by white plumage
The ibis forages mainly by feel rather than sight, using the long curved beak to probe the bottom of shallow water for aquatic prey.
The white ibis is said to be a symbol for courage and optimism because they are supposedly the last birds to shelter from the onset of a hurricane, and the first to venture out as the storm passes. This is of course equally consistent with symbolising extreme foolhardiness… but let it pass.
FASCINATING FACTOIDS The white ibis / hurricane connection is nurtured by the University of Miami, of which the bird is the mascot. The sports teams are called the Hurricanes (or the ‘Canes for cheering purposes). Their endeavours are supported enthusiastically by none other than Sebastian the Ibis. “What does he look like?”, I hear you cry. This:
Sebastian makes a ‘U for University’ with his.. er… wingtips. He sports a natty Hurricanes hat and might easily be confused with Donald Duck’s less amiable-looking and more aggressive cousin
I had intended to digress further into the mysteries of the Sacred Ibis, symbol of the Ancient Egyptian God Thoth, the God of Learning and Wisdom who ranked with Isis and Osiris as A Top God. But in fact it’s quite a dull area, and 3 pictures and a nice bronze sculpture will give you the general idea.
The Sacred Ibis of Thoth, Met. Museum NYC
Credits: Kasia Reid, Woody Bracey, Tony Hepburn, Met, Wiki
Pingback: White ibis on beach, video | Dear Kitty. Some blog
a stunner – do you follow http://phillanoue.com/
LikeLike
Thanks and no – but thanks for the heads-up! I will now! RH
LikeLike
Pingback: Northern bald ibis in the Netherlands, video | Dear Kitty. Some blog
Thanks for sharing this post in your ibis article! RH
LikeLike
The first shot with the fish is a real beaut! Thanks for showing us the Egyptian’s ode the the Ibis! I didn’t realize that! Pretty cool find
LikeLike
Hi Kathi. Not my pic, to be fair, but wish it had been! I knew vaguely about Thoth and his remarkable head, but I had no idea that he was such a big hitter among the Egyptian Gods – thanks, Wiki!! RH
LikeLike
Gorgeous photos, really enjoyed this.
LikeLike
Thanks Kristin – they are quite photogenic, aren’t they! 😎
LikeLike
spectacular!
LikeLike
Thanks Cindy! Nice birds to have to deal with in a post! RH
LikeLike
Beautiful detail in the whites of the ibis. Great shot.
LikeLike
Aren’t they great birds? It was fun to write the post. RH
LikeLike
That’s a fantastic shot RH! Well done! 🙂
LikeLike
Thanks for that! It was an enjoyable post to put together. RH
LikeLike