“Our” planet has only one “simply red” wading bird species.
Outside of zoos, Eudocimus ruber – the scarlet ibis/ red ibis – can only be seen in warm, wet parts of the Caribbean & tropical South America.
The pictured scarlet ibis were part of a large group of these highly-sociable birds, gathered in & around a river near Villavicencio on the first afternoon of March, this year.
We could scarcely believe our eyes!
They are even more “unbelievable” if one is lucky enough to enjoy a good view of a scarlet ibis in flight, especially when it is about to land.
We were so lucky, as you will be able to see in a later, multi-image, more informative post.
Members of this species gain their characteristic colour via their crustacean-rich diet; accordingly, only adults are fully-red.
Footnote: the other bird prominently-present in this post’s photo is a Southern lapwing, Vanellus chilensis – a species widespread in much of South America.
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