Glossy ibis: Where It Lives, Map & Facts

Where the glossy ibis lives – recorded in 86 countries, with quick facts from Wikidata and an introduction from Wikipedia.

Scientific name	Plegadis falcinellus
Group	Herons, storks, cranes & flamingos
Status	Least concern (Wikidata, IUCN category label)
Found in	86 countries
Continents	Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania, South America
Mass	633 g (adult weight)
Class	Bird
Order	Pelecaniformes
Family	Threskiornithidae

Where does the glossy ibis live?

Open-licence (CC0 / CC BY) wild records published on GBIF place the glossy ibis in 86 countries and territories across Africa, Asia, Europe, North America, Oceania and South America. Wikidata gives its range as: Africa, South America, Burkina Faso. In Belgium, France, Netherlands it is listed as introduced (GRIIS checklists via GBIF).

Countries with at least a handful of records (a minimum share of the species’ records, to leave out vagrants and escapes). Records with coordinates only; captive and fossil records excluded.

How big is a glossy ibis?

Wikidata records the following for the glossy ibis: mass 633 g (adult weight).

Is the glossy ibis endangered?

The glossy ibis’s conservation status recorded in Wikidata is “Least concern” (an IUCN Red List category label). Source: Wikidata.

What kind of animal is the glossy ibis?

The glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) is a bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the family Threskiornithidae, genus Plegadis. (Taxonomy from Wikidata.)

About the glossy ibis

The glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek plegados and Latin, falcis, both meaning "sickle" and referring to the distinctive shape of the bill.

The historical name black curlew was used for the glossy ibis in Norfolk at least until the early 19th century, and this name also appears in Anglo-Saxon literature. Yalden and Albarella do not mention this species as occurring in medieval England.

Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Glossy ibis (revision 1380682508), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0. Changes: lead section excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Quick facts, taxonomy and status: Wikidata Q178811 (CC0). Countries and pin: GBIF.org occurrence records (CC0 / CC BY 4.0).