Southern Bald Ibis / Geronticus calvus

This bird, along with various other species, are free to roam in part of the Tropical building at the Calgary Zoo. While we do not get these birds in the wild, if one is lucky, one can see a White-faced Ibis on various slough locations outside Calgary, such as Frank Lake, SE of the city. Both species have such gorgeous, iridescent feathers. This photo was taken on 6 October 2015.

“The southern bald ibis (Geronticus calvus) is a large bird found in open grassland or semi-desert in the mountains of southern Africa. This large, glossy, blue-black ibis has an unfeathered red face and head, and a long, decurved red bill. It breeds colonially on and amongst rocks and on cliffs, laying two or three eggs which are incubated for 21 days before hatching. It feeds on insects, small reptiles, rodents and small birds.

The ibises are gregarious long-legged wading birds with long down-curved bills; they form one subfamily of the Threskiornithidae, the other subfamily being the spoonbills. The two Geronticus species differ from other ibises in that they have unfeathered faces and heads, breed on cliffs rather than in trees, and prefer arid habitats to the wetlands used by their relatives.” From Wikipedia.

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_bald_ibis

www.arkive.org/southern-bald-ibis/geronticus-calvus/