Fighting White-faced Ibises (11 images)

Generally the White-faced Ibis is non-aggressive as it feeds in large groups of its own kind.   Even when they accidentally bump into each other there is usually no aggressive response.  But there are exceptions…

All images are presented in the order they were taken.

 

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Eight days ago while I was photographing a variety of feeding shorebirds at Glover Pond a brief altercation broke out between these two ibises (note: both “ibis” and “ibises” are accepted plural forms of the word).

 

 

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After a brief aerial spat one bird dipped its bill into the water in the direction of the other ibis…

 

 

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and then the second bird responded in kind and I thought it was over.  It wasn’t.

 

 

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A few moments later they went at it again (I believe it was the same two birds but I’m not sure as there were others feeding in the area).

 

 

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Much of the combat was aerial and though I noticed little actual physical contact…

 

 

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the action sometimes resembled a form of pugilistic ballet.

 

 

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This second bout lasted quite a while – long enough that I had to nurse my camera buffer and even then it filled several times so I’m sure I missed some interesting shots as a result.

 

 

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The fight seemed like more bark than bite as there were lots of threatening wing positions and other apparent ritualized behaviors but I didn’t notice any stabbing or biting with their beaks.

 

 

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“Getting air” seemed to be an important part of the display.  Sometimes it was done individually…

 

 

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and other times it was simultaneous with both birds.

 

 

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Eventually the ibis on the left conceded defeat and vacated the area.

These birds usually feed communally in large groups and I seldom notice any significant tension between them which is quite a contrast with herons and egrets that invade each others feeding space.  As a result this particular fracas took me by surprise and I was lucky to get as many images of it as I did.

Ron

 

 

26 Comments

  1. Great camera work capturing all this action. I’ve never seen this much display-action in Ibis. I have seen “empty” fields erupt with thousands of birds, mostly ibis, when the ultimate predator (a helicopter) flew over. “nursing the buffer” … good description.

  2. Hello Ron,
    Wonderful photos of the ibis. I particularly like the iridescence that you captured in their feathers.
    I have been enjoying your site for a while. Your very talented with that camera, sir.

  3. WOW!!

  4. I really enjoyed looking at these. I would love to know what they were saying to each other. I wish all birds fought like that, no one gets hurt. And they performed beautifully. I loved the photos with the reflections in the water, and all the wing positions, it was all great. Beautiful photos Ron! Thank you.

  5. Ron–are you sure it was a fight, or some kind of squabble, not a dance contest????

  6. Wow, wow and wow.
    What a display, what a series, what an experience to see it.
    And I would love to know their choreographer. And see rather more of his/her work.

  7. Jorge H. Oliveira

    Wonderful choreography. It looks like ballet. And in the second and third image “another bird” joined in. Absolutely great.
    Thank you for sharing.

  8. Wow! One again, I find myself unable to say it better than Alison did, so I’ll just second her comments. Thanks so much, Ron. This was really fun to see.

  9. That’s so interesting! I wonder what the squabble was about. Usually one expects mating or feeding to be the basis, “You looked at my woman!” or “That was MY fish!”. In August, could this be “No, I’m not feeding you any more!”?

  10. An interesting series…looks like these birds may have practiced for this fight on a trampoline…after choreographing it first. Their battles seem more civilized than ours…

  11. Another terrific series Ron. These birds are so graceful even when they are fighting.

  12. Lovely story. Ron, have you ever used a 2x TC on your lens? How were the results?

    • Maghi Cat, I don’t use a 2x for a couple of reasons. With the 7D and my 500 f/4 lens I lose autofocus with a 2x. But several years ago I bought a 2x anyway and tried to use in in certain static situations where I could manually focus. Within a few months I sold it, mostly because I couldn’t stand to be without AF.

  13. This is a fascinating series of shots. I found myself very interested in the feet and the reflections. I have a question: what is a camera buffer and what does it do? That’s something you’ve mentioned a couple of times lately, and I am totally ignorant when it comes to fancy camera equipment.

    • Susan, the buffer is memory (RAM) that temporarily holds the image data before it is written to the card. That way the buffer speeds up the time between shots so you can shoot in bursts. But once the buffer is full you can’t shoot anymore until it’s had time to transfer that info to the card. You may remember the first digital cameras when they came out – you had to shoot one shot and then wait before the next one because those early cameras didn’t have buffers. Hope that makes sense…

      • It absolutely makes sense, Ron. I’m sure that’s why my last camera was so slow, which is why I got rid of it (it was a point and shoot). Thank you for the explanation.

  14. Geeeze-O-FLIP!!!!!! Great great captures!!!!!!!!!!

  15. Somebody woke up cranky! 😀 Great shots. I love the coloring in the first shot.

  16. What a spectacular series, Ron! And what an elegant way for them to resolve their disputes – airborne and largely through display. I’m impressed all round… you truly captured a magical encounter to share with us. Thanks.

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