Scarlet Ibis
Its magnificent bright colour is due to its food
The extraordinary colour of the Scarlet Ibis was the reason why it has been massively hunted for its feathers. Fortunately, the species seems to be saved and its populations are growing, thanks to protection measures. It is therefore no longer threatened. As that colour is highly visible, young ibises are born brown and keep that more discrete plumage for two years. Then, year by year, they become redder and, as they age, they turn pink.
Their bright colour is due to their food, primarily small shellfish living in the mouths of South American and Caribbean rivers. Indeed, shrimps and crabs contain carotenes (red colorants which are also found in carrots and tomatoes): when looking at cooked lobsters or prawns one understands.
The Scarlet Ibis nests in mangrove swamps, those forests of American mangroves which border the estuaries and which withstand salt or brackish water. Some of them also to be found more to the north, as far as Florida.
A less threatened species
- Name : Scarlet Ibis
- Latin name : Eudocimus ruber
- Origin : South America
- IUCN status : Least concerned
- Cites : Appendix II
