Date: 1/12/26 8:18 am From: Patty McLean <000008e6fff5e5c8-dmarc-request...> Subject: Re: Glossy/White-faced Ibis on Orrick Rd
I see i forgot to add "/White-faced' to the title of my first post, so updating it here.While it's good practice not to identify an immature dark ibis to species before late Jan/February, the bird in question has an extensive amount of glossy green on the wing and tail. Both an adult Glossy and adult White-faced show this plumage in the winter. The White-faced adult loses its pinkish facial skin and bright white line that circles the back of the eye (which looks very similar to the facial features of a Glossy Ibis). However, an adult White-faced retains its red iris through the winter, which obviously rules out this bird being an adult White-faced Ibis. So far, that's as far as I've gotten.I find these types of similarities to be fascinating and like to dive a bit deeper into their distinctions and similarities. As we have learned through our personal journeys, an immature dark ibis will show a brown eye, but a White-faced can begin showing a red iris as early as December and certainly by February. However, from what I found in Birds of the World, the glossy green coloration of the wings and feathers doesn't occur in a juvenile until March-May. Here's what AI has to say about this: "Juvenile White-faced and Glossy Ibises start dull brown but gain their iridescent green/bronze/purple gloss by their first breeding season (around 1 year old) during their prealternate molt in early spring, transitioning from duller, more uniform brown to the rich, metallic colors of adulthood, especially visible in breeding plumage."This brings the question to my mind about whether this is a young bird or an adult. I'm hoping there is someone here who will give us greater detail about the specific differences in these two similar species, particularly this time of year. If indeed this is an adult, it would qualify for Glossy. But if it's not possible to distinguish a juvenile from an adult, this would be important information to have in our pockets. Patty
-------- Original message --------From: Patty McLean <plm108...> Date: 1/11/26 10:36 PM (GMT-06:00) To: ARBIRD-L <ARBIRD-L...> Subject: Glossy Ibis on Orrick Rd We made a stop on Orrick Rd today on our way home from visiting family in NW Arkansas. We saw a dark ibis along one of the ponds. Thinking it was a recently reported White-faced Ibis, we initially reported it as such. In fact, the bright sunlight reflected red in the eye at certain angles, but it didn't always appear red. Michael took numerous photos which show the iris to be brown and, more importantly, the facial skin in front of the eye appears to be gray and the lines above/below the eye appear to be pale and thin. Knowing that the iris of a juvenile White-faced doesn't turn red until late Jan or Feb, what do others think and why? This may likely need to remain unknown and submitted as Glossy/White-faced.See photos of this individual attached to this eBird report. https://ebird.org/checklist/S293715673Patty McLean and Michael Linz The Roadrunners
