Hello ibis watchers:
With the arrival of two White-faced Ibis on 17 Apr, an apparent pair, it has been great to see a number of people getting to see them! More than two White-faced Ibis might be around, but there also now appears to be at least one hybrid. So it looks like the water has gotten murky, and this is an appeal to be careful identifying these birds. The Maine Bird Records Committee hopes everyone will keep sending in their photos and descriptions. White-faced Ibis is still a review species in Maine.
The two White-faced Ibis (from 17 Apr onward) both show characteristics of a pure birds: red eyes, red facial skin (maybe more pinkish-red on the male) encirling the eye, and bright pinkish-red legs (a good field mark for picking them out in flight). We can also sex them based on bill length and shape: the male's bill is longer and straighter while the female's is shorter and more bowed. The female is also smaller and shorter-legged. Here is a composite photo of the pair in flight (male on the top, female on the bottom):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/8bd5gkflzvjj553/WFIB_pairinflight_Scarborough_04172013.jpg
And they seem to be sticking together: http://ebird.org/ebird/view/checklist?subID=S13854999
There may be a second male White-faced Ibis that shows more white around the face, especially near its chin. Here is the first male photographed on the 17th:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/qiu8he9u09z70pf/WFIB_ad_male_Scarborough_04172013.jpg
The possible second male with more white around the face was photographed by Andy Aldrich on the 24th:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22247688@N04/8677699525/sizes/l/
Now for the hybrid, which was photographed by Doug Hitchcox on 21 Apr and best photographed by Andy Aldrich on the 24th (labled White-faced Ibis):
http://www.flickr.com/photos/22247688@N04/8678807886/sizes/l/
The brighter facial skin and obvious wrap around the eye are good indicators of a White-faced Ibis. However the coloration of that skin is more purple and the eye appears brownish; a blended Glossy trait. There is also a blue-white border apparent on the bottom edge of the face; a definite Glossy trait. While leg color is variable in both species, Glossy tending to be dull gray and White-faced all pinkish-red, many suspected hybrids have shown a tendency to have reddish color concentrated around the leg joint ("knees" -- really, ankles on birds). Many pure Glossy can show this red around the joint, and so can pure White-faced; also, some Glossy can show reddish legs.
In terms of how many White-faced Ibis are around, one has to be careful because the female White-faced shows very little white on the right side of its face (Louis Bevier now thinks this was what he thought was a third bird on 23 Apr):
https://www.dropbox.com/s/stoid25udev2zo9/WFIB_ad_female_Scarborough_04172013.jpg
For more information on hybrids, we found these papers helpful.
Arterburn and Grzybowski, North American Birds (v57 n1):
http://www.okbirds.org/nab-v57-n1-2003-glossy-whitefaced-hybridization-new.pdf
Tony Leukering, Colorado Birds (v42 n2), hybrids from the perspective of the birder where Glossy Ibis is rare:
http://cfobirds.org/downloads/In%20the%20Scope/006%20In%20the%20Scope%20April%202008.pdf
For maps of where these ibis have been seen recently, check:
http://ebird.org/ebird/alert/summary?sid=SN35688
With three (+?) White-faced Ibis in Scarborough last spring and at least one continuing throughout the summer it is fun to speculate what might be happening on Stratton Island...
Good birding,
Doug Hitchcox, Assisstant Secretary, Maine Bird Records Committee (ME-BRC)
Hollis, ME
Louis Bevier, Chair ME-BRC
Fairfield, ME
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