Glossy ibis
Plegadis falcinellus
 
ITIS Species Code:   174924         NatureServ Element Code:   ABNGE02010
 
Taxa: 
Order: 
Family: 
Aves
Ciconiiformes
Threskiornithidae
NatureServe Global Rank: 
NatureServe State (NC) Rank: 
 
G5
S2B,S1N
 
Federal Status: 
NC State Status: 
 
---
SC
 
 
PARTNERS IN FLIGHT PRIORITY SCORES:
Southern Blue Ridge:  n/a Southern Piedmont:  n/a South Atl. Coastal Plain:  n/a
 
HEXAGONAL KNOWN RANGE:PREDICTED DISTRIBUTION:
 
SUMMARY OF STATEWIDE PREDICTED DISTRIBUTION:
 
Land Unit
US Fish & Wildlife Service
US Forest Service
US National Park Service
US Department of Defense
NC State Parks
NC University System
NC Wildlife Res. Com.
NC Forest Service
NC Div. of Coastal Mgmt.
Local Governments
Non-Governmental Org.
Other Public Lands
Private Lands
GAP Status 1-2
All Protected Lands
Statewide
 
Hectares
22,306.95
672.30
11,431.80
5,752.26
1,163.70
221.94
7,707.06
0.00
1,770.48
7.11
2,461.86
45.18
104,329.17
37,839.24
52,985.25
157,869.81
 
Acres
55,121.66
1,661.29
28,248.59
14,214.14
2,875.56
548.43
19,044.56
0.00
4,374.95
17.57
6,083.39
111.64
257,802.94
93,502.78
130,929.38
390,104.72
% of Dist. on
Prot. Lands
42.1 %
1.3 %
20.5 %
10.9 %
2.2 %
0.4 %
14.5 %
0.0 %
3.3 %
4.6 %
4.6 %
< 0.1 %
0.0 %
71.4 %
-----   
-----   
% of Dist. on
All Lands
14.1 %
0.4 %
7.2 %
3.6 %
0.7 %
0.1 %
4.9 %
0.0 %
1.1 %
< 0.1 %
1.6 %
< 0.1 %
66.1 %
24.0 %
-----   
-----   
 
HABITAT DESCRIPTION:
Uncommon near a few colonies on the coast, but breed mostly on the Outer Banks, where they are locally common. Population is generally decreasing (Fussell 1994).

Forages in the shallow salt or fresh water of marshes, flooded fields, ponds, and estuaries (Kaufman 1996). Nests in cypress swamps and salt marshes (Palmer 1962).

Nests in colonies, sometimes in association with herons and egrets. Nest is built on the ground or in a tree or shrub over water. Forages by wading and probing in shallow water, often stirring up prey for Snowy Egrets (Ehrlich et al. 1988).

NATURE SERVE GLOBAL HABITAT COMMENTS:

Marshes, swamps, lagoons, pond margins, lakes, flooded pastures; fresh, brackish, and salt water. Reported as mainly in freshwater habitats on the Atlantic coast of Florida, more common in saltwater habitats in Louisiana (Spendelow and Patton 1988). Nests usually with herons or other water birds, on the ground in a marsh or in small trees or bushes near water (e.g., in BACCHARIS, IVA, and MYRICA along the U.S. Atlantic coast). See Spendelow and Patton (1988) for further details on nesting habitat in different regions.

 
MODELING DESCRIPTION:
Occupied Landcover Map Units:
Code NameDescription NC Natural Heritage Program Equivalent
3 Tidal Marsh Fresh and brackish tidal marshes, including cord grass, wild rice, sawgrass and needlerush alliances. Brackish Marsh, Interdune pond, Maritime wet grassland
124 Maritime Scrubs and Tidal Shrublands Coastal shrubs including wax-myrtle, swamp rose, alder, yaupon, and greenbriar. Maritime Shrubs, Salt Shrub
375 Hypersaline coastal salt flats Tidal flats within salt marshes, including saltmeadow cordgrass or sea-purslane dominated alliances. Salt Marsh
372 Interdune Herbaceous Wetlands Dune swales with permanently flooded to intermittently exposed hydrology. Species composition depends on salinity and can include cut grass, spike-rush, mosquito fern, and hornwort. Interdune Pond, Maritime Wet Grasslands
126 Interdune Wooded Depression Swamp Includes swamps dominated by sweetbay and swampbay or dogwood dominated forests. Maritime Shrub Swamp, Maritime Swamp Forest
380 Coastal Plain Fresh Water Emergent Emergent vegetation in fresh water seepage bogs, ponds and riverbeds of the coastal plain. Includes alliances dominated by sedges, eelgrass, as well as cane found in unforested cane-brakes. Small Depression Pond, Sandhill Seep, Floodplain Pool, Unforested Floodplain Canebrake, Riverscour Prairies, Vernal Pools
173 Coastal Plain Riverbank Shrubs Shrub dominated riverbanks, commonly dominated by willows and/or alders. Sand and Mud Bar
30 Cypress-Gum Floodplain Forests Swamps dominated by black or swamp tupelo with or without Taxodium. Seasonally to semi-permanently flooded hydrology. Cypress-Gum Swamps
78 Pond-Cypress - Gum Swamps, Savannas and Lakeshores Cypress dominated swamps and lakeshores. Can include bays dominated by pond cypress or shorelines of coastal plain lakes with a narrow band of cypress. Non-riverine Swamp Forest, Natural Lakeshores (in part)
205 Agricultural Pasture/Hay and Natural Herbaceous Farm fields used for pasture grass or hay production, as well as old fields dominated by native and exotic grasses. No equivalent
202 Residential Urban Includes vegetation interspersed in residential areas. Includes lawns, mixed species woodlots, and horticultural shrubs. Vegetation accounts for between 20 - 70% of the cover. No equivalent
8 Open water Open water without aquatic vegetation. No equivalent
View Entire Landcover Legend
 
Additional Spatial Constraints:
Exclude all area outside of known range.
Exclude all land greater than 50 meters from an open water feature.
Exclude all land greater than 50 meters from wet vegetation.
Exclude all water greater than 50 meters from land.
Exclude salt water habitats.
 
CITATIONS:
McAlpine, D. F., et al. 1988. First nesting of the glossy ibis, PLEGADIS FALCINELLUS, in Canada. Canadian Field-Nat. 102:536-537.

Fleury, B. E., and T. W. Sherry. 1995. Long-term population trends of colonial wading birds in the southern United States:the impact of crayfish aquaculture on Louisiana populations. Auk 112:613-632.

Hancock, J. A., J. A. Kushlan, and M. P. Kahl. 1992. Storks, ibises, and spoonbills off the world. Academic Press. ca. 464 pp.

Fussell, J.O. III. 1994. A birder’s guide to coastal North Carolina. Chapel Hill and London: The University of North Carolina Press.

Kaufman K. 1996. Lives of North American Birds. Boston, New York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Palmer, R. S. (editor). 1962. Handbook of North American birds. Vol. 1. Loons through flamingos. Yale University Press, New Haven. 567 pp.

Terres, J.K. 1980. The Audubon Society encyclopedia of North American birds. Alfred A. Knopf, New York.

American Ornithologists' Union (AOU), Committee on Classification and Nomenclature. 1983. Check-list of North American Birds. Sixth Edition. American Ornithologists' Union, Allen Press, Inc., Lawrence, Kansas.

National Geographic Society (NGS). 1983. Field guide to the birds of North America. National Geographic Society, Washington, D.C.

Ehrlich, P.R., D.S. Dobkin, and D. Wheye. 1988. The birder's handbook:a field guide to the natural history of North American birds. Simon and Shuster, Inc., New York. xxx + 785 pp.

Root, T. 1988. Atlas of wintering North American birds:An analysis of Christmas Bird Count data. University of Chicago Press. 336 pp.

Spendelow, J.A., and S.R. Patton. 1988. National atlas of coastal waterbird colonies in the contiguous United States:1976-1982. U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Biological Report 88(5). x + 326 pp.

Byrd, M.A., and D.W. Johnston. 1991. Birds. Pages 477-537 in K. Terwilliger, coordinator. Virginia's endangered species:proceedings of a symposium. McDonald and Woodward Publ. Co., Blacksburg, Virginia.

Stiles, F.G., and A.F. Skutch. 1989. A guide to the birds of Costa Rica. Comstock Publ. Associates, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, New York. 511 pp.
10 March 2005
 
This data was compiled and/or developed by the North Carolina GAP Analysis Project.

For more information please contact them at:
NC-GAP Analysis Project
Dept. of Zoology, NCSU
Campus Box 7617
Raleigh, NC 27695-7617
(919) 513-2853
www.basic.ncsu.edu/ncgap