This bird is the definition of you are what you eat.
Wow I can feel their feathers, they're so close to me!
They spend so much time at the crustacean buffet that
they’ve turned the colour of their favourite meal.
Say hello to the scarlet ibises of bird kingdom.
This is the Scarlet Ibis.
Hi, I’m Aranya Iyer and you’re watching Animalogic’s World of Birds.
Today, we’re in Bird Kingdom in Niagara Falls, feeding the Lorikeets.
And when they’ve got their fill, I’m going to meet a bird that’s seriously pretty in pink.
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Hello, we have arrived at Bird Kingdom. And we’re entering the small bird aviary
It really feels like we’re walking through a rain forest.
Hi everybody, just a normal tuesday afternoon, hanging out with the scarlet ibises.
The scarlet ibis is one of two living species in the genus Eudocimus
These ibises are related to the american white ibis, but obviously they're a little
more interesting than their plain white Nnorth American counterparts.
They belong to the wading bird family Threskiornithidae, which includes ibises
from around the world, as well as one of my favourite birds, the Roseate Spoonbill.
The ibis family is full of colourful characters,
but only the scarlet ibis can boast a pink plumage, or is it red? Or orange?
Let’s just keep it simple, and go with scarlet, like their name.
Whatever shade of pink they are, they’re all gorgeous,
so I’ll have to pop back into the studio with an outfit to match.
As long as on Wednesdays, they wear pink,
they can sit with us – or stand gracefully in this case I guess.
Scarlet Ibises live in wet, marshy habitats in South America and the Caribbean.
Even though they love spending time in the water, scarlet ibises are actually pretty great fliers.
They migrate long distances in the classic V formation.
They’ll glide and soar through the sky at high heights and fast speeds.
But for shorter distances, they fly in what scientists call “damn that’s a lot of birds”
Unlike the world’s most iconic pink bird, the flamingo, scarlet ibises are quite small.
They’re so tiny, they’re much tinier than I thought they’d be
They’re just about 60 cm tall and only weigh a little over 1 kg.
They have long pink legs and a long curved bill,
which they use to look for food in soft mud or under plants.
Despite being waders, scarlet ibises don’t have super webbed feet.
This allows them to perch in trees and move through mud easily.
And now for the moment you’ve all been waiting for… Why They’re Pink.
The very shocking answer is…
it’s their diet! OK, so same as flamingos
I was really hoping for a more exciting reason - like they evolved specifically
to blend in in Regina George’s bedroom. But alas…
The scarlet ibis primarily eats insects, shrimp, crabs, mollusks and other crustaceans.
And those shrimp and red shellfish contain a red pigment
called astaxanthin, and eventually that pigmentation carries over to these ibises.
Eat enough crabs, and suddenly you start to look like a crab. Just not the whole claw part.
Some researchers believe that the American White Ibis and the Scarlet Ibis are actually
the same species, and it’s just their difference in diet that sets them apart.
We're still not sure why more scientists haven't fed white ibises a scarlett ibis’
diet to see what happens. What are you waiting for science?!
We don’t recommend force feeding yourself shrimp to see if it would work for you though.
Like the flamingo, scarlet ibises are super social serial monogamists.
They’re huge believers of safety in numbers as it makes predator attacks less likely,
and dilutes the danger of being attacked for each individual.
They’ll even hang out with spoonbills,
herons and ducks to have more eyes on the sky (to up their numbers against predators).
Everyone’s welcome! Well, except for the predators.
They live in flocks of 30 or more, and mating pairs arrange their nests
close to other couples in the same tree.
Scarlet ibis nests have been called “artless,” because,
really, it’s just a loose formation of sticks.
I think we can have a little more gentler reading of that situation and call it minimalist
When it’s time to breed, the male will perform mating moves like
preening, shaking, head rubbing, and showing off just how high he can fly.
Come on, man, play it cool!
You can tell the males apart from the females, because the males have slightly larger beaks.
5 days after a very romantic cloacal kiss, mom will lay three to five eggs.
Juveniles of scarlet ibises are usually dusty brown and white.
It’s only through feeding that they get their bright magenta colour.
So eat up, little scarlet ibis! And maybe one day you’ll grow up to be as scarlet as mom and dad!
So what should we talk about next? Please let me know in the comments
and be sure to subscribe for new episodes every week. Thanks for watching. See ya!
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