| Members of the family threskiornithidae include ibises and spoonbills. These birds have long, broad wings. They are strong fliers. The body tends to be elongated with rather long legs. The bill is also long, decurved in the case of the ibises, straight and distinctively flattened in the spoonbills. Ibises and spoonbills are diurnal spending the day feeding on a wide range of invertebrates and small vertebrates. Ibises find their prey by probing in soft earth or mud, spoonbills by swinging the bill from side to side in shallow water. They are gregarious, |
feeding, roosting, and flying together, often in formation. Nesting is colonial nearly always in trees overhanging water, but sometimes on islands. Generally, the female builds a large structure out of reeds and sticks brought by the male. Typical clutch size is two to five; hatching is asynchronic. Both sexes incubate in shifts, and after hatching feed the young by partial regurgitation. There are six genera and 20 species of ibises and spoonbills known to occur in Peru. Photo (left): Puna Ibis, Photo (right): Roseate Spoonbill. |
ARDEIDAE: Herons & Bitterns – Garzas & Mirasoles