Fun Facts!

A natural redhead? Probably not. The scarlet ibis gets its red color from eating red crabs found in tropical swamps, gradually inducing the characteristic scarlet feathers.

The scarlet ibis is the national bird of Trinidad, also seen on the coat-of-arms of Tobago.

Whether an experiment or a breeding transplant attempt, eggs from Trinidad were placed in white ibis nests in Hialeah Park, NJ in the early 1960s. The resulting population produced a ‘pink ibis’ hybrid still seen occasionally today.
 

Scarlet Ibis

Eudocimus ruber

PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION

This bird is about a foot long and only weighs about 20 ounces. The two-foot-tall bird is almost completely scarlet, except for black wing-tips. It uses its large curved bill to gather food. They nest in trees, laying two to four eggs. A juvenile scarlet ibis is gray/white in color.

HABITAT

They live in tropical South America, also Trinidad and Tobago. It prefers shallow, marshy inland areas such as cypress swamps as well as inland wetlands, pastures and ponds. Prefers shallow marshy areas and cypress swamps as well as inland wetlands, pastures, lawns, and shallow ponds.

DIET IN THE WILD

They are carnivorous and eat crustaceans and small marine animals.

BEHAVIOR

The scarlet ibis is a nervous, wary bird, so they flock in fairly large numbers for protection to feed during the day and roost at night.

STATUS IN THE WILD / CONSERVATION EFFORTS

The scarlet ibis faces its main danger from large cats and birds of prey. They are plentiful in the wild so they are on the “least concern” lists.

LIFE SPAN

They can live up to 15 years in the wild and longer in captivity.