My impression was that it was an immature bird. The bill was immaculate and the head and neck were heavily streaked/spotted. It had no indication of white lines on face. So, no easy ID. Van Remsen says not to try it in his post.
But, my sense from my (not enough) experience with these two species in the field and looking at images of non-breeding birds is that White-faced have paler faces that contrast more with the body than Glossy. A quick review of November-only photos in eBird Media Search Tool reinforced that impression. The background dark on the face of most spot/streaked-faced White-faced Ibises appeared to be brown, and a shade or two paler than the body, making the face contrast with the body and stand out. On most Glossies the background face color was dark and close to the body color, and the whole face did not appear to contrast. The Armitage Road bird had a very strong contrasting face. I haven’t looked at my photos on the computer yet. Kevin From: bounce-122021942-3493...@list.cornell.edu [mailto:bounce-122021942-3493...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Dave Nutter Sent: Monday, November 6, 2017 9:15 AM To: CAYUGABIRDS-L <cayugabird...@list.cornell.edu> Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fwd: [LABIRD-L] Identification and Status of White-faced and Glossy ibises in southeastern LA Alicia Plotkin kindly forwarded this information about separating Glossy & White-faced Ibis. The first step is figuring out what age the bird is, so I’m looking for evidence about the Armitage Rd bird. - - Dave Nutter Begin forwarded message: From: Alicia <t...@fltg.net<mailto:t...@fltg.net>> Date: November 5, 2017 at 10:17:47 PM EST To: Ann Mitchell <annmitchel...@gmail.com<mailto:annmitchel...@gmail.com>> Subject: Fwd: Re: [LABIRD-L] Identification and Status of White-faced and Glossy ibises in southeastern LA Saw your post on the ibis ID and thought you might be interested in this discussion that took place recently on the Louisiana bird list, where the ranges of the two ibises overlap. -------- Forwarded Message -------- Subject: Re: [LABIRD-L] Identification and Status of White-faced and Glossy ibises in southeastern LA Date: Sat, 21 Oct 2017 14:03:21 -0500 From: Steven W. Cardiff <scar...@gmail.com><mailto:scar...@gmail.com> Reply-To: Steven W. Cardiff <scar...@gmail.com><mailto:scar...@gmail.com> To: labir...@listserv.lsu.edu<mailto:labir...@listserv.lsu.edu> Labirders- The only thing I would add is that adults in non-breeding plumage retain the "reddish/chestnut" upper wing coverts (shoulder). This is how they can be distinguished from immatures. So, if you are panning through a flock during fall-winter, individuals with the chestnut upper wing patch will be adults and should have their definitive iris and facial skin colors. Steve Cardiff On Sat, Oct 21, 2017 at 11:52 AM, James V Remsen <naja...@lsu.edu><mailto:naja...@lsu.edu> wrote: > LABIRD: Part 2: > > Here are the ID problems, as I understand them so far. Steve, Donna, and > others please chime in to repair any damage below: > > ========== > > JUVS: these are the brownish necked individuals with few if any streaks, > often with pale blotches on the bill. These are NOT identifiable to > species as far as anyone knows and should always be reported as Plegadis > sp. in SE LA (including Florida and River parishes). All of them have gray > facial skins and dark eyes. > > ========== > > IMMS: In first basic plumage, the neck becomes streaked. The facial skin > is gray in both species. The iris in White-faced at some point becomes > red. So, if you do see a streak-necked bird with a red eye, then it is > WFIB, but a dark-eyed bird cannot be safely identified. A real problem is > that as White-faced matures, it can pass through a stage that looks very > Glossy-like in still having dark eye and facial skin but having traces of > white around face that can make it look like a Glossy. For example, the > following photos were found by Tony Leukering from CA and NV, where GLIB > would be extremely unusual, so these are presumably WFIB: > > California: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/70670231#_ga=2.29961980. > 25890241.1507509707-334541348.1399337695 > California: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/68874791#_ga=2. > 265350860.25890241.1507509707-334541348.1399337695 > California: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/34774341#_ga=2.59837166. > 25890241.1507509707-334541348.1399337695 > Nevada: https://macaulaylibrary.org/asset/69398871#_ga=2. > 265350860.25890241.1507509707-334541348.1399337695 > > > An open question is how early WFIB begin to acquire a red iris. We can > all contribute to this by uploading photos to eBird. > > ========== > > > ADULTS in basic (non-breeding) plumage, i.e. streaked neck, lack of > breeding colors around face (but wing coverts still glossy green etc: the > most reliable way to tell them apart is by iris color: red in WFIB, brown > in GLIB. The facial skin should also be pinkish in WFIB, gray in GLIB. > > ============= > > Summary: FIRST, put your bird into an age category and then …. > > > 1. JUVS: cannot be identified to species and should always be listed as > Plegadis sp. In SE LA. > 2. IMMS: IF the iris is red, then it’s WFIB; otherwise, should always > be listed as Plegadis sp. In SE LA. > 3. ADS (non-breeding): If you can see iris color or facial skin, then > you can ID them; otherwise, should always be listed as Plegadis sp. In SE > LA. > > I am skipping the topics of first alternate plumage and hybrids (which > are not infrequent), but beware of birds with mixed or intermediate > characters. > > I am going to hit the “reset button” for SELA Pleads, so all you eBirders > should brace yourselves for a barrage of messages. > > =================== > > Dr. J. V. Remsen > Prof. of Natural Science and Curator of Birds > Museum of Natural Science/Dept. Biological Sciences > LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 > najames<at>LSU.edu<http://LSU.edu> > > > On Oct 15, 2017, at 2:17 PM, James V Remsen > > <naja...@lsu.edu><mailto:naja...@lsu.edu> wrote: > > > > LABIRD: It is clear from eBird data that observers are over-reporting > Glossy Ibis in southeastern LA based on (1) assumption that most or all > Plegadis there are Glossy, and (2) treating any Plegadis as Glossy unless > it has obvious white facial markings or red iris. I have made these > mistakes myself. Both assumptions are wrong. > > > > To force us all to pay closer attention to their status and > distribution, I have zeroed the eBird filters for both species for all of > southeastern LA as far west as Terrebonne and around L. Pontchartrain > despite the facts that both species are expected there. Briefly, the only > way to ID non-breeding plumage Plegadis is by iris color (red in WHFIB, > dark in GLIB), and many WFIB to not attain their red eyes until late in > their first year, so dark iris is not sufficient to call a bird a Glossy. > More later in a subsequent message on what I understand concerning their ID. > > > > So, henceforth, you will have to defend your species IDs on these two in > the above regions. Otherwise, just enter as Glossy/White-faced. > > > > > > > > > > =================== > > > > Dr. J. V. Remsen > > Prof. of Natural Science and Curator of Birds > > Museum of Natural Science/Dept. Biological Sciences > > LSU, Baton Rouge, LA 70803 > > najames<at>LSU.edu<http://LSU.edu> > > > > -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: Welcome and Basics<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME> Rules and Information<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES> Subscribe, Configuration and Leave<http://www.northeastbirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm> Archives: The Mail Archive<http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html> Surfbirds<http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds> BirdingOnThe.Net<http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html> Please submit your observations to eBird<http://ebird.org/content/ebird/>! -- -- Cayugabirds-L List Info: http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsWELCOME http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsRULES http://www.NortheastBirding.com/CayugabirdsSubscribeConfigurationLeave.htm ARCHIVES: 1) http://www.mail-archive.com/cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu/maillist.html 2) http://www.surfbirds.com/birdingmail/Group/Cayugabirds 3) http://birdingonthe.net/mailinglists/CAYU.html Please submit your observations to eBird: http://ebird.org/content/ebird/ --
