Straw-necked Ibis

Scientific Name: Threskiornis spinicollis

Population Estimate: 1M

Range / Habitat: Wetlands, pasture and grasslands of northern and eastern Australia, parts of Indonesia, and Papua New Guinea.

Field Notes: Black back, wings and head with white neck and underparts. Long yellow plumes on neck. Glossy Ibis with no white and Australian White Ibis with white back and wings.

Personal Notes: Photograph taken in Canberra, Australia.

Australian Ibis

Scientific Name: Threskiornis molucca

Population Estimate: Unknown, but Least Concern status

Range / Habitat: Wetlands and artificial habitats throughout much of Australia, parts of Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.

Field Notes: Large, white ibis with bare black head and neck, black bill, and black plumed tail feathers. Straw-necked Ibis has black back and wings.

Personal Notes: Ubiquitous at Sydney Royal Botanical Gardens.

African Spoonbill

Scientific Name: Platalea alba

Population Estimate: 11-110K

Range / Habitat: Found in a variety of wetland habitats in sub-Saharan Africa and Madagascar.

Field Notes: Large, all white wading bird with distinctive large, flat spoon-shaped bill. Bright pink legs and face mask.

Personal Notes: Seen at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

White-faced Ibis

Scientific Name: Plegadis chihi

Population Estimate: 1.2M

Location of Sighting: San Blas, Mexico

Date of Sighting: January, 2010

Notes: White-faced Ibis is the bird on the right (bottom photo). Cattle egret on the left. Also seen in one of the most unlikely of places: Mesquite Spring in the middle of Death Valley. A single random ibis. 

Roseate Spoonbill

Scientific Name: Platalea ajaja

Population Estimate: 100K to 250K

Range / Habitat: Prefers brackish costal marshes and lagoons, less frequently around fresh water. Ranges from both coasts of Mexico, though Central America, and down to central Argentina.

Field Notes: Unmistakable in range.

Personal Notes: We saw the top pair nesting at Disney's Animal Kingdom.

American White Ibis

Scientific Name: Eudocimus albus

Population Estimate: 150K

Range / Habitat: Year-round in shallow coastal marshes, wetlands, and mangrove swamps along the Gulf Coast, Atlantic coast of US as far north as the Carolinas, throughout Florida and the Caribbean, both coasts of Mexico and Central America as far south as Columbia and Venezuela.

Field Notes: Medium-sized white wading bird with black wing tips, long decurved red bill and red legs. Unmistakable in range.

Personal Notes: Seen in Cancun and Orlando.

Royal Spoonbill

Scientific Name: Platalea regia

Population Estimate: 25K - 100K

Range / Habitat: Favors tidal mudflats along the coasts of New Zealand, Australia, Indonesia, Paupa New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands.

Field Notes: Large, brilliantly white wading bird with long, black spoon-shaped bill. The white plumes on the head signify breeding plumage. Unmistakable in range.

Personal Notes: First seen among the albatross at Taiaroa Head. Later seen in abundance in the Catlins.