Glossy ibis touches down on Iloilo City, another first in Panay

After three years, a rarely seen migratory bird in the country was spotted in Hinactacan wetlands in Lapaz, Iloilo City.

The colorful Glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) made a surprising touchdown on Nov 29, 2020 in Hinactacan.

Rachel A. Casio of the Conservation and Development Division (CDD) of the Department of Environment and Natural Resources (DENR) in the region captured the arrival of the Glossy ibis with his lenses.

In 2017, Casio also documented the arrival of the Brent goose (Branta bernicla nigricans), which was the first country record in the same site.

Unlike the Brent goose, however, there have been sightings of the Glossy ibis in Mindanao and Luzon.

For the Visayas group of islands, this was the first time the ibis was seen in the area.

Bird expert Philip Godfrey Jakosalem of the PhilBio confirmed the identification of the Glossy ibis.

The Glossy ibis is a wading bird with a global range and is the most widespread of all ibis species, but rarely observed in the Philippines.

At a distance, the Glossy ibis’ plumage may look dark. However, a closer look and good lighting would reveal stunning colors of deep maroon, emerald, bronze, and violet.

They are long-legged, with long bills that are sometimes mistaken for the Eastern curlew. They forage close together in open fresh marshes, but they also frequent brackish and saltwater marshes, mudflats, mangrove swamps, wet agricultural fields, lakes, shallow rivers, and pond edges.

One amusing behavior of the Glossy ibises is that they bow to one another during courtship, preen each other (called allopreening), and touch their bills together, rattling them quickly while cooing.

This rare visit to the Hinactacan wetlands must have been because migratory birds are always searching for the best ecological conditions and habitats where they can feed, nest, or breed.

The Glossy ibis is known to breed in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Americas’ Atlantic and Caribbean regions.

“We take pride that we have the Hinactacan wetlands, which serves as a haven to our migratory birds. This gives us good reasons to take care of our wetlands areas in the region, not only for the birds but especially for us humans. Our wetlands are our natural water filters. It serves as drainage basins during storms and sustains surface water flow during the dry season,” said DENR 6 regional executive director Francisco E. Milla Jr.