Ibis (Hadeda)

The Hadeda Ibis is a large bird with short legs and Native to South Africa. They are greyish-brown bird with blackish wing and tail feathers, but in certain lighting it has a metallic purple-green colour on its wings.

The long, blackish down-curved bill has a red line on top of the upper bill. The legs and feet are grey, with a line of red scales running down the front of the legs and the tops of the toes.

They nest in isolation, unlike other ibis species, mainly in late winter and early summer. The male usually gathers nest materials, which it ritually offers to its mate. The nest is a platform of sticks, lined with grass and lichens; many eggs and young fall from the flimsily constructed nest. Both sexes incubate the 2-6 eggs and feed the young. The nesting cycle lasts 2-3 months.

Photographed at Discovery Cove, Orlando, FL