Glossy Ibis: Plegadis falcinellus (Kowar)

Glossy Ibis (Kowar)
Plegadis falcinellus

 

 

When the unremarkable black ball of feathers foraging for delicacies in a marsh shifts its posture, the sunrays bounce off the feathers, splitting into component beams and smite the observer's eye with a breathtaking rainbow of colours. One then calls that black ball of feathers a Glossy Ibis.

 

Ibises are thought to have originated from Africa, but have now a widespread presence. Also, they possess an inherently migratory streak to their nature and travel considerable distances across the globe when not nesting.

 

A wader which relishes the offerings of marshes and shallow lakes, the long bill curving down is typical. The legs are black and the feathers are actually a very dark shade of green, though they look black from a distance. It's about twice as large as a healthy rooster, say 3 feet high at it's tallest and about 2 to 2-1/2 feet from bow to stern. 

 

The Glossy Ibis, locally known as Kowar, is a connoisseur of fish, frogs, aquatic dwellers and insects.

 

This one was foraging about 50 meters from me.

 

Photographed at Keoladeo Ghana Bird Sanctuary, Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India on 29th December, 2013.

 

Camera used: Nikon D5100 DSLR with AF-S DX NIKKOR 55-300mm VR Lens