White-faced Ibis
Plegadis chihi · Ibises and Spoonbills
Banding codeWFIB
Keys to identifying it
1Size & shape
About 21 in long.
2Color pattern
- Long downcurved bill
- Dark chestnut body with green-purple gloss
- Breeding adults have a white border around red facial skin
3Habitat & season
Flooded fields, marshes, wet meadows
In northern Utah: summer.
Seen most often in April, May, July and August.
Share of the region’s research-grade iNaturalist bird observations each month, scaled to this bird’s peak. Highlighted bars are its peak months.
4Voice
Low, grunting quacks.
“a nasal 'graa-graa'”
iNat 291829946 by Kathlin Simpkins · Wreford No. 280, SK, Canada · CC0
Know it
- Breeding adults show a thin white border of feathers around the face.
- Flies in long lines with neck and legs stretched out.
- Utah's Great Salt Lake wetlands support some of the largest colonies anywhere.
Often confused with
Double-crested Cormorant
Black-billed Magpie- Glossy Ibis
- White-faced × Glossy Ibis
From iNaturalist identification data for northern Utah.
From Wikipedia
The white-faced ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family, Threskiornithidae native to the Americas.
Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0