Making Natural History in Public: (TB) Observation 2:

Monday, September 17, 2012

(TB) Observation 2:

THE SCARLET IBIS

While Guillermo and I were roaming through the birdhouse at the Lincoln Park Zoo, we were intrigued by all the different species of birds in the "collection." We marveled at the Snowy Egret with it's pure white feathers and lanky black legs and were intrigued by the Tawny Frogmouth that was slapping a dead mouse against a branch to "soften" it before swallowing its pray whole. While there were many birds that piqued my curiosity, there was one bird in particular that struck me: the Scarlet Ibis. I was intrigued because at first I could not find the bird in the cage at all. The placard showed a vibrant red bird with a strange red beak to match; yet I could not spot a single shade of scarlet in the cage. I finally looked up into the enclosure's branches and spotted the beauty. I set out to understand this hidden creature.

The Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber) can be found in it natural habitat of northern South America (Brazil to Venezuela). It gets its red color just like flamingoes do; the pigment comes from the crustaceans that are a part of their diet. As the Ibis grows older, the red becomes more and more intense. Their long beak allows the to probe the mud in the tropical areas that they inhabit to find food. They use their feet which are only partially webbed to grab onto branches and climb high into trees. They fly in flocks up to 30, but never migrate to North America. They are not endangered, but could become at risk if the hunting for their beautiful feathers does not stop.

They are the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago and appear on the country’s coat of arms. Fossils of the ibis have been found that date back to sixty million years old. The Ibis is a very “Sacred” bird and has even been found mummified in Egyptian tombs. There is also a very famous short story called “The Scarlet Ibis” by James Hurst.