Editing Scarlet ibis (section)

===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/>