ML507012291

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Observation details

continuing immature in ponds east side of Ohiki Rd near trailhead of Okolehao Trail (22.2031436, -159.4726957). dark wading bird with greenish/golden tones on wings, duller on neck and head where some pale grayish streaking, very long bill with decurved tip, long legs. though I occasionally thought I was getting flashes of red from the eyes, I could easily have just been imagining this as the more stable/steady looks I got made the eyes look dark (also appropriate for young WFIB but not ruling out GLIB). light was subpar. I cannot rule out Glossy Ibis based on my observations here, and I suspect others who have seen this bird this year have also not ruled out GLIB, but based on some reading ( http://hbs.bishopmuseum.org/birds/rlp-monograph/pdfs/03-PHAE-GRUI/WFIB.pdf ) it seems every Plegadis identified with certainty in Hawai‘i has been WFIB, although there are a couple of old specimens whose measurements might suggest GLIB. With that, and with the natural range of WFIB being considerably closer to Hawai‘i than that of GLIB, with no documented history of GLIB wandering in the North Pacific further than Palau (not far from GLIB range), I feel is reasonably safe to call this bird and Plegadis ibises in general in Hawai‘i this species, but I’m happy to change to Glossy/White-faced Ibis if the reviewers suggest doing so.

Technical information

Dimensions

830 pixels x 738 pixels

Original file size

198.98 KB