The Story
I photographed this Bare-faced Ibis (Phimosus infuscatus) at the Finca Ecoturística Canaguaros, near Tauramena, Casanare, Colombia, in January 2020. It is also called the whispering ibis, and it is the only species in its genus. It gets its name from its featherless, reddish face. It lives in wet meadows, savannas, marshes and rice fields, probing for insects, worms and other small invertebrates. It is usually seen in flocks, sometimes with other ibises or even domestic animals. Canaguaros is an ecotourism farm at kilometer 2 of the alternate road to Monterrey, with cabins, horseback rides and an ecological trail.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600. Across its range, IUCN lists the Bare-faced Ibis as Least Concern, and its population appears to be stable.
©2020 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Bare-faced Ibis (Phimosus infuscatus) belongs to the family Threskiornithidae (Ibises and Spoonbills) in the eBird/Clements taxonomy.
Source: eBird.org (opens in a new tab)
Conservation
Least Concern on the IUCN Red List (assessment published 2025), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List