Editing Scarlet ibis (section)

==Behavior==

===Breeding===
[[File: Threskiornithidae - Eudocimus ruber (Scarlet Ibis).webm |thumb|240px|right|''Eudocimus ruber'' in a nest with baby birds at [[Busch Gardens Tampa]]. Video clip]]
Mating pairs build [[bird nest|nests]] in a simple style, typically "loose platforms of sticks"<ref name=RossZoo/> of a quality described as "artless".<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Bent |first1=Arthur Cleveland |year=1926 |title=Life Histories of North American Marsh Birds |journal=United States National Museum Bulletin |issue=35 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution |page=36 |url=https://archive.org/details/cbarchive_35246_guararubralinnaeusscarletibis1877 |access-date=12 December 2011 |quote=The scarlet ibis builds its artless nest of brush in inaccessible places on low trees.}}</ref> They roost in leaf canopies, mostly preferring the convenient shelter of young waterside [[mangrove]] trees.<ref name="NHL Stenden">{{Cite web |url=https://www.nhlstenden.com/ |title=Scarlet Ibis |author=Jan Hein Ribot |year=2010 |publisher=NHL Stenden Hogeschool |work=Nhlstenden.com |access-date=12 December 2011 }}</ref> Scarlet ibises like wet, muddy areas such as swamps, but for safety they build their nests in trees well above the water. If they can, they nest on islands, where their eggs and chicks are less likely to be in danger from predators.<ref>Herons and Relatives. ''Animals: A Visual Encyclopedia.'' London: Dorling Kindersley Publishing, Inc., 2008. Credo Reference. Web. 17 September 2012.</ref>

To attract a female, the male will perform a variety of mating rituals such as "preening, shaking, bill popping, head rubbing, and high flights. As with most birds, mating does not involve any coupling or insertion: instead, a transfer of seminal fluids occurs during external contact between the [[cloaca]]l openings.<ref>Zahl (1954), p. 194.</ref> After a gestation period of five to six days,<ref name=UWI2011/> the female lays a clutch of three to five smooth, matte [[egg (biology)|eggs]] which typically incubate for 19–23 days.<ref name=UMMZ/><ref name=Zahl195>Zahl (1954), p. 195.</ref> After a successful courtship, pairs remain faithful and cohabitant, sharing parental responsibilities for the young.<ref name=UWI2011/>

In southeastern Brazil, the ibises gather in [[Bird colony|colonies]] in mid-September and build nests at the beginning of November. Egg laying within the colony was synchronous, with female birds laying eggs in three waves in early November, late December and late January.<ref name=olmos01/>

===Feeding===
Their distinctive long, thin [[Beak|bills]] are used to probe for food in soft mud or under plants.<ref name=Moss42/> Popularly imagined to be eating only [[shrimp]], a recent study in the [[Llanos]] has found that much of their diet consists of insects, of which the majority were [[Scarabaeidae|scarabs]] and [[ground beetle]]s.<ref name=Condor1993 /> One species in particular, a scarab beetle ''[[Dyscinetus]] [[Dyscinetus dubius|dubius]]'', formed a large part of the diet.<ref name=Condor1993 /> Other insect prey include [[water beetle]]s and [[Nepomorpha|water bug]]s.<ref name=UWI2011 /> In contrast, the diet of the co-occurring American white ibis there differed, the latter consuming more [[Heteroptera|bugs]], fish and crustaceans.<ref name=Condor1993>{{Cite journal |last1=Aguilera |first1=Eduardo |last2=Ramo |first2=Cristina |last3=Busto |first3=Benjamin |title=Food Habits of the Scarlet and White Ibis in the Orinoco Plains |journal=The Condor |volume=95 |issue=3 |pages=739–41 |doi=10.2307/1369623 |year=1993 |jstor=1369623 }}</ref>
[[File:Scarlet ibis arp.jpg|thumb|right|"While showering dignity and color on the scarlet ibis, nature seems to have been reluctant in the bestowal of weapons. The bird's beak was blunt, its toenails were unsharpened, and its eyes had a gentle, soft Bambi quality." <br />  – [[Paul A. Zahl|Dr. Paul A. Zahl]], ''Coro-Coro'' <ref>Zahl, p. 188.</ref>]]

They do, however, eat much shrimp and other similar fare like ragworms (''[[Nereis]]''), mollusks (such as ''[[Melampus (gastropod)|Melampus]]''), small crabs (''[[Aratus (genus)|Aratus]]'', ''[[Uca]]'' and ''[[Ucides]]'') and other crustaceans, such as crayfish.<ref name=UWI2011/><ref name=RossZoo/><ref name=UMMZ/><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/scaibi/cur/introduction | title=Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber), version 1.0 | journal=Birds of the World | date=2020 | last1=Matheu | first1=Eloïsa | last2=Del Hoyo | first2=Josep | last3=Garcia | first3=Ernest | last4=Boesman | first4=Peter F. D. }}</ref> The large quantity of shrimp and other red shellfish produces a surfeit of [[astaxanthin]], a [[carotenoid]] which is the key component of the birds' red pigmentation.<ref name=RossZoo/><ref name=Krinsky>{{Cite book|last1=Krinsky |first1=Norman I. |last2=Mathews-Roth |first2=Micheline M. |last3=Taylor |first3=Richard F. |title=Carotenoids: chemistry and biology |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=q1YXAQAAIAAJ |access-date=12 December 2011 |year=1989 |publisher=Plenum Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0-306-43607-9 }}</ref> Frogs, small snakes, small fish ([[Cichlidae]]), fruits and seeds are also occasional prey items for scarlet ibises.<ref name=UWI2011/><ref name=UMMZ/><ref>{{cite journal | url=https://birdsoftheworld.org/bow/species/scaibi/cur/introduction | title=Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber), version 1.0 | journal=Birds of the World | date=2020 | last1=Matheu | first1=Eloïsa | last2=Del Hoyo | first2=Josep | last3=Garcia | first3=Ernest | last4=Boesman | first4=Peter F. D. }}</ref> When kept in zoos, the birds' diet often contains beetroot and carrot supplement to maintain color vibrancy in their plumage.<ref name=RossZoo/>

The Llanos are notable in that these wetland plains support seven species of ibis in the one region. Here, scarlet ibis are the most aggressive, and attack other species to steal their food. They have also been observed trailing [[white-faced whistling duck]]s (''Dendrocygna viduata'') and domestic livestock, and catching insects disturbed by them.<ref>{{cite journal| title=Foraging Ecology of Seven Species of Neotropical Ibises (Threskiornithidae) during the Dry Season in the Llanos of Venezuela |author1=Frederick, Peter C. |author2=Bildstein, Keith L. | journal=The Wilson Bulletin |volume= 104|issue= 1 |pages=1–21}}</ref>

===Social behavior===
The scarlet ibis is a sociable and gregarious bird, and very communally-minded regarding the search for food and the protection of the young. They live in flocks of thirty or more. Members stay close, and mating pairs arrange their nests in proximity to other pairs in the same tree.<ref name=UWI2011/>

For protection, flocks often congregate in large colonies of several thousand individuals.<ref name=UWI2011/> They also regularly participate in mixed flocks, gaining additional safety through numbers: storks, spoonbills, egrets, herons and ducks are all common companions during feedings and flights.<ref name=UWI2011/>