Ibises

Arabia fly towards Egypt, and the birds called ibises meet them at the entrance to this country and do not suffer the serpents to go by but kill them. ❋ 480? BC-420? BC Herodotus (1883)

This region in which the spines are scattered upon the ground is of the nature of an entrance from a narrow mountain pass to a great plain, which plain adjoins the plain of Egypt; and the story goes that at the beginning of spring winged serpents from Arabia fly towards Egypt, and the birds called ibises meet them at the entrance to this country and do not suffer the serpents to go by but kill them. ❋ Herodotus (2003)

This region in which the spines are scattered upon the ground is of the nature of an entrance from a narrow mountain pass to a great plain, which plain adjoins the plain of Egypt; and the story goes that at the beginning of spring winged serpents from Arabia fly towards Egypt, and birds called ibises meet them at the entrance to this country and do not suffer the serpents to go by but kill them. ❋ Herodotus (1909)

Scarlet ibises consume a diet of frogs, reptiles and crustaceans -- and it is the carotenoids within the bodies of the crustaceans that give scarlet ibises their stunning colour. ❋ Unknown (2011)

The he-men at the Wildlife Service even shot 29 great blue herons, 820 cattle egrets and 115 white-faced ibises in 2009. ❋ Martha Rosenberg (2012)

Juvenile scarlet ibises resemble white ibises due to their lack of scarlet colouring, and some authorities believe the scarlet and white ibis to be subspecies. ❋ Unknown (2011)

There were lots of reptiles on display in the atrium, but the designers had included plenty of nonreptiles as well to provide some activity for guests to observe: parrots, scarlet ibises, small-clawed otters, and two families of capuchin monkeys. ❋ STUART GIBBS (2010)

Rice growers are avid bird watchers, Linscombe said, "this week, for example, I was in a field and saw flocks of stilts, roseate spoonbills, ibises and egrets, and stopped and enjoyed the spectacle for awhile." ❋ Unknown (2010)

The study used 160 young ibises split into 4 groups that were provided a diet with varying levels of mercury. 55 percent of the males given a high-mercury diet ended up nesting with other males, and the degree of homosexual pairing increased with all groups as mercury exposure likewise increased. ❋ The Huffington Post News Team (2010)

Also, some scenes from the City Botanic Gardens – lots of ibises endangering small children. ❋ Unknown (2010)

The spindly legs and long curved bills of the ibises turn an even brighter pink than usual. ❋ Unknown (2009)

At peak times these days, the scientists say, there may be 140,000 or so ibises and other wading birds in the Everglades, down from at least several hundred thousand before the engineers laid into the marshes and mangroves. ❋ Unknown (2009)