Help ID Ibis-like bird in NM
Emily Lee Phillips
mile east of the Rio Grande a couple of weeks ago. I just assumed they
were Glossy Ibis, but just today had cause to check my field guide and
saw that GIs are not expected hereabouts. Seen from a distance, the
field marks were:
Size of Long Billed Curlew, with very long decurved bill and long wader
legs. In flight it looked dark all over, but I didn't get a good view of
the belly.
Two of these birds were walking through a recently flooded pasture area a
couple of hours after I saw the one in flight. They were DARK on the
bellies, unlike the Curlew. Their bills seemed shorter that the
Curlew's, also.
Joe Morlan
> I need help identifying two birds I saw south of Albuquerque about half a
> mile east of the Rio Grande a couple of weeks ago. I just assumed they
> were Glossy Ibis, but just today had cause to check my field guide and
> saw that GIs are not expected hereabouts. Seen from a distance, the
> field marks were:
What about White-faced Ibis? They would be expected in New Mexico and
are very similar to Glossy Ibis. From a distance the two look identical.
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Joe Morlan
Albany, CA
jmo...@slip.net
eis...@sldb6.slac.stanford.edu
> I need help identifying two birds I saw south of Albuquerque about half a
> mile east of the Rio Grande a couple of weeks ago. I just assumed they
> were Glossy Ibis, but just today had cause to check my field guide and
> saw that GIs are not expected hereabouts. Seen from a distance, the
> field marks were:
>
> legs. In flight it looked dark all over, but I didn't get a good view of
> the belly.
>
> Two of these birds were walking through a recently flooded pasture area a
> couple of hours after I saw the one in flight. They were DARK on the
> bellies, unlike the Curlew. Their bills seemed shorter that the
> Curlew's, also.
>
>
They would be White-Faced Ibis, which are very similar in plumage to Glossy.
I believe that the one Glossy Ibis photographed earlier this year is the
first well-documented record for New Mexico.
Al Eisner
(EIS...@SLAC.Stanford.EDU)
San Mateo County, CA
Emily Lee Phillips
field across the street. White-face Ibis would be the species alright.
I'm embarassed that I used a relatively old field guide in looking them
up, so managed to miss the range map on White-Faces. As I remember the
two there was just a wee bit of white around the bills. Have not seen
them again.
Now, can anybody tell me if the sound made by the wing feathers of a
Broad Tailed Hummingbird is like a child's water whistle? I heard such a
sound yesterday and was able to see that it came from a fast flying
hummer way too high see see any color. So far this season in my yard
there are many Black-Chins at the feeders.
Emily Lee Phillips, South of Albuquerque.