White-faced Ibis at the Merced National Wildlife Refuge

The White-faced Ibis (Plegadis chihi) certainly has one of the more interesting beaks in the bird kingdom. Everything in evolution has (or once had) a purpose, or the adaptation would have disappeared. The thick curved beak of the ibis is an excellent tool for probing deep into the mud of shallow ponds. We saw this one on a brief tour of the Merced National Wildlife Refuge last week.

The "white face" part appears during the breeding season, which as can be seen is not right now. The Ibis is more of a tropical species, and we have one of the northernmost winter populations in the country. Most of those seen in western North America are headed to winter roosts in Mexico.