Range map for the White-faced Ibis (graphic courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology).
Ibises are chunky wading birds that have a thick curved bill. Two species, both with iridescent feathers, have a very rare chance of being seen in Wisconsin. Glossy Ibises are found on every continent except Antarctica, while White-faced Ibises reside only in the Americas. It’s likely that a small population of Glossy Ibises made it to the New World long ago and the White-faced Ibis emerged from that population as a new species due to the genetic isolation. White-faced Ibises nest in colonies around shallow marshes across the western half of the United States. Local food abundance seems to be more important for breeding pairs rather than a specific nesting location, as they’ll build nests in trees over water, dense marsh vegetation like bulrush, or even on the ground of islands that are protected from predators.
One of the White-faced Ibises at Erstad Prairie in May 2025 (photo by Jim Otto).
Only a handful of White-faced Ibis sightings have been recorded in the state with most accounts coming from Horicon Marsh (see eBird sightings map here). On May 3, the pond at Southern Wisconsin Bird Alliance’s Erstad Prairie (managed by Goose Pond Sanctuary staff), was graced by not one, but a pair of these rare creatures. his was the first report of the species at Erstad. The last time one was seen on SoWBA lands was at Goose Pond in the fall of 2017. The pair has been found reliably at either the east side of the pond at Erstad Prairie or at the adjacent Schoeneberg Marsh Waterfowl Production Area since they were first reported.
Glossy Ibises are more common in Wisconsin than White-faced Ibises, but Sam Robbins writes in Wisconsin Bird Life:
White-faced Ibis at Goose Pond in October 2017. Note the bird’s red eye (photo by Melody Walsh).
“Wisconsin observers should not automatically assume that a dark ibis is the eastern Glossy form. They should remember that immatures are probably indistinguishable in the field, that adults are separable only when seen under favorable conditions of light and distance, and that plegadis sp. may be the most accurate way of reporting a dark ibis.”
The pair at Erstad are in breeding plumage, so they do have the distinctive white face, but if you can get close to an immature ibis (don’t spook them!), you can tell the difference between the two species based on eye color. The eyes of a White-faced Ibis are red while the eyes of a Glossy Ibis are brown.
Written by Graham Steinhauer, Goose Pond Sanctuary land steward
Cover image by Kaitlin Svabek. A White-faced Ibis wades in a shallow pond near the border of Dane County and Columbia County in April 2020.
