A Pair Of Glossy Ibises Feeding In A Marsh Stock Photo

At distance, Glossy Ibises look uniformly dark, but a close look in good light reveals stunning colors: deep maroon, emerald, bronze, and violet. This long-legged, long-billed bird forages in flocks through wetlands and wet agricultural fields, searching for insects, small fish, and seeds. The birds are somewhat nomadic, dispersing widely after the nesting season—a tendency that has aided the species in the past 100 years as it has expanded its range from the southeastern U.S. to include much of eastern North America.