The Story
I photographed this Buff-necked Ibis (Theristicus caudatus) at Hato Altamira in Casanare, Colombia. The Buff-necked Ibis is a fairly large ibis of open habitats in eastern and northern South America. It lives in fields, marshes and savannas. Its bill and the bare skin around its eyes are blackish, and its legs are red. Hato Altamira is one of three ranches, with Mata de Palma and Montana, that make up El Encanto de Guanapalo, a reserve of almost 9,000 hectares of flooded savanna and gallery forest in San Luis de Palenque. IUCN lists the Buff-necked Ibis as Least Concern, with a stable population.
I made this frame with a Pentax K-1 and the HD Pentax-D FA 150-450mm f/4.5-5.6, at 1/20 sec, f/25, ISO 100. The families who run its ranches work to keep the savanna from being cleared, burned or plowed, and to keep llanero culture alive for the next generation.
©2022 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Buff-necked Ibis (Theristicus caudatus) 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