Ibises and Spoonbills (Threskiornithidae)

Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber) - HBW 1, p. 501

French: Ibis rouge German: Scharlachsichler Spanish: Corocoro Rojo

Taxonomy: Scolopax rubra Linnaeus, 1758, America = Bahamas ex Catesby.
Forms superspecies with E. albus; recent proposal to merge them into single species, on basis of close morphological and ecological similiraties and relatively frequent natural hybridization in zone of overlap in Venezuela, where over 40 mixed pairs recorded; another view is that they may simply be colour morphs. Monotypic.

Distribution: N & E Colombia and E Ecuador to N Venezuela, the Guianas and coastal Brazil as far as Amazon Delta; non breeding visitor to Margarita I and Trinidad, where formerly bred; formerly also coastal Brazil S to Paraná; recent recolonization of Santos Bay, São Paulo.