Margaret Viens and I found a large group of ibis behind Pelreco at Scarborough marsh. There were a minimum of 74 Plegadis ibis actively foraging and capturing small, eel-like prey. Our focus was on finding the Whit-faced Ibis, however. Eventually we noticed three ibis standing together, and I noted that the largest bird with the most obvious white around the face and with the longer, less abruptly decurved bill was likely the male of the pair found by Doug Hitchcox. Another of the three showed a shorter and more curved bill and slightly less white feathering around the reddish face, and was likely the female. After both of those birds walked off, and we thought we had seen "both" White-faced Ibis, we noticed that the remaining bird had reddish legs and a reddish face! There was little, if any, white around the face and the overall plumage seemed slightly duller than the other two. I think this is a third White-faced Ibis and probably a subadult. We were too far away to judge eye color or assess other characters that might suggest it was a hybrid. Nothing we could see hinted at that, however. Doug Hitchcox mentioned that he had seen a similar bird a few days ago. Seems like happy times for White-faced Ibis in Maine!
Louis Bevier
Fairfield
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