The Story
This Green Ibis (Mesembrinibis cayennensis) perched on a branch in Restrepo, Meta, Colombia. It is the only member of its genus and lives in forested wetlands, especially swamps and the edges of rivers and lakes, below about 500 meters. Like other ibises it eats fish, frogs and other water creatures, as well as insects. Its hollow, hooting call is heard most often at dawn and dusk, and it builds a flimsy platform nest of twigs high in a tree.
I made this frame with a Canon R5 and the RF 800mm f/11 plus the RF 1.4x extender, at 1/125 sec, f/16, ISO 1600, −0.5 EV. IUCN lists the Green Ibis as Least Concern, and it is found from Costa Rica south to northern Argentina and Paraguay.
©2025 Adam Rainoff Photographer
The bird
The Green Ibis (Mesembrinibis cayennensis) 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 2021), with the population trend listed as stable. Source: IUCN Red List