Introduction

The White Ibis is a striking, white bird with a long, thin, distinctively decurved bill. It usually nests, feeds, and flies in large conspecific flocks, and in many ways epitomizes the freshwater and coastal wetlands of the southeastern United States. Historically one of the most abundant of North American wading birds, it still maintains large regional populations with a few nesting colonies of 20,000–30,000 pairs.

This is a bird of freshwater and estuarine wetlands—typically cypress swamps, bottomland hardwood and mangrove swamps, as well as freshwater marshes and salt marshes. It is also a nomadic species, which changes roost and colony sites frequently and often migrates or disperses substantial distances. Its feeding and nesting appear to be limited by the changing availability of shallow water feeding sites and of its main prey, crustaceans. Because of salt stress, nestlings do not develop normally on brackish water prey, so nearby freshwater feeding sites are essential for successful breeding at coastal colonies.

No subspecies are recognized, but the Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber) of South America is closely related and is considered by some to be a conspecific color phase.