Trinidad: Scarlet Ibis - Eudocimus ruber

Trinidad-Tobago gained its independence from the United Kingdom in 1962, and selected the Scarlet Ibis as the symbol for Trinidad and the Rufous-vented Chachalaca for Tobago. Both species are featured on the T-T Coat of Arms, along with hummingbirds. An evening visit to the Caroni Swamp on the west coast of Trinidad capped our 5 days visit. We viewed a few Scarlet Ibis feeding on mudflats in front of the visitor center, 50+ yards away. One of them kept picking up what looked like an eel, but I didn't see if it was ingested. The climax of the trip was a boat ride to view the birds as they flew in by scores and hundreds to a communal roost in the mangrove swamp. Indescribable - you'll just have to go and see for yourself.

The Scarlet Ibis gets it color from red compounds (carotenoids) in the crustaceans and insects that it ingests, much like Flamingos. S. Moss, in his book Remarkable Birds, described the color as a "vivid orange-red, almost luminous in quality". Vivid, for sure! The bird's feathers are all the same bright red, except for the black tips of the outer 4 primaries, just visible here near the tail and seen better in flight. The Scarlet Ibis eats mostly insects and crustaceans, but is known to take small fish, frogs and snakes. The species is usually migratory, and ranges from the Caribbean Islands down through northern South America, especially in Colombia and Venezuela and near the coast of northern Brazil. The bill and legs are red too, although the bill becomes black-tipped in alternate plumage. The male is somewhat bigger, with a longer bill. I suspect this individual is a male, as the bill is surely impressive.

Taxonomy

Order: Pelicaniformes - Only 3 families now: Pelicans, Herons, Ibises/Spoonbills. Lots of changes here, as many families have been removed from Pelicaniformes (Boobies, Tropicbirds, Cormorants, etc.) while other like the Herons were taken from Ciconiiformes and moved into Pelicaniformes.

Family: Threskiornithidae - Ibises (27), and Spoonbills (6). 11 Ibises seen in the New World.

Genus: Eudocimus - Only 2 species here, the Scarlet Ibis and the White Ibis, Eudocimus alba. The White Ibis is such a close relative of the Scarlet that some authorities list them as "conspecific", i.e. 2 races within the same species. The birds are identical except for the scarlet feathers, and they successfully interbreed where their ranges overlap. Each species does have a preference when it comes to pair formation, referred to as "assortive" mating, so that within mixed colonies most pairs produce young of one or the other color.

Species: Eudocimus ruber - Scarlet Ibis. The Scarlet Ibis is sometimes seen in the Florida Everglades, where it was introduced years ago. It is also kept successfully kept as a captive bird, where it lives as long as 30 years. Wild birds live about 16 years, if they are lucky. Even today they are taken illegally as food in some areas, but are protected virtually everywhere.