White Ibis Similar Species Comparison
Main SpeciesWhite Ibis
Adult
Large, long-legged wading bird with a football-shaped body and a long, curved bill. Adults have white bodies, bright red legs, a bare patch of red skin around the eye, and a red bill.
© Melissa James / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, April 29, 2017Immature
Immature birds are a patchwork of white and brown with a pink bill and legs.
© Tom Johnson / Macaulay LibraryNew Jersey, July 01, 2020Adult
A large wading bird with long legs and a long, curved bill. Adult is almost entirely white, with black-tipped wings and brilliant reddish-pink legs and bill.
© Gerrit Vyn / Macaulay LibraryLouisiana, July 05, 2010Not all videos have sound
Juvenile
Large wading bird with a curved bill. Juveniles are brown above with a paler brown streaky neck and white below. Juveniles have an orangish pink bill.
© Melissa James / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, February 10, 2017Adult
Flies with its neck out straight and its legs trailing behind. Note black wingtips.
© Jon Corcoran / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, January 22, 2019Flock
Mixed flocks of adult and immature individuals form in coastal and inland habitats, such as marshes and mangrove swamps.
© Benjamin Clock / Macaulay LibraryLouisiana, June 18, 2010Not all videos have sound
Immature
Heavy-bodied wading bird with broad wings. Immatures in flight are white below with brown primaries and secondaries.
© Michael Todd / Macaulay LibraryTennessee, August 21, 2018Adult
Probes for insects and crustaceans beneath the surface of wetlands with their long curved bill. Note pale blue eye of adult birds.
© Mary Rachel Tucker / Macaulay LibraryAlabama, June 02, 2017Immature
Immature birds are mottled white and brown. As they age they acquire more white plumage.
© Wen & Steve Rockoff / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, June 12, 2017Habitat
Found in freshwater marshes, coastal estuaries, mangroves, flooded pastures, mudflats, and swamps.
© Carlos Echeverría / Macaulay LibraryRetalhuleu, October 13, 2014Similar SpeciesGlossy Ibis
Juvenile
Juvenile Glossy Ibis look similar to juvenile White Ibis, but they have dark underparts and a paler bill.
© Rogério Rodrigues / Macaulay LibraryLisboa, July 27, 2017Similar SpeciesWhite-faced Ibis
Nonbreeding adult/immature
Juvenile White-faced Ibis have darker underparts and a paler bill than juvenile White Ibis, which have white underparts and a brighter orangish pink bill.
© DigiBirdTrek CA / Macaulay LibraryCalifornia, August 26, 2017Similar SpeciesGreat Egret
Adult
Great Egrets are large white birds, but they lack the White Ibis's long, curved red bill.
© Alex Lamoreaux / Macaulay LibraryPennsylvania, August 17, 2016Similar SpeciesWood Stork
Adult
Wood Storks are much larger than White Ibises. They have a dark, bare face and extensive black along the trailing edge of the wings unlike White Ibis, which only have black on the tips of the wings.
© Gates Dupont / Macaulay LibraryFlorida, April 06, 2017Rotate Your Device to Better Compare
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Species in This Family
Ibises and Spoonbills(Order: Pelecaniformes, Family: Threskiornithidae)
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