Editing Scarlet ibis

{{Short description|Species of bird}}
{{About|the bird|the short story|The Scarlet Ibis}}
{{Use American English|date=May 2014}}
{{Speciesbox
| status = LC
| status_system = IUCN3.1
| status_ref = <ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021">{{cite iucn |author=BirdLife International |date=2016 |title=''Eudocimus ruber'' |volume=2016 |page=e.T22697415A93612751 |doi=10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22697415A93612751.en |access-date=19 November 2021}}</ref>
| status2 = CITES_A2 
| status2_system = CITES 
| status2_ref = <ref>{{Cite web|title=Appendices {{!}} CITES|url=https://cites.org/eng/app/appendices.php|access-date=2022-01-14|website=cites.org}}</ref>
| image = Oceanografic Scarlet Ibis 02.jpg
| image_caption = A scarlet ibis at [[L'Oceanogràfic]]
| taxon = Eudocimus ruber
| authority = ([[Carl Linnaeus|Linnaeus]], [[10th edition of Systema Naturae|1758]])
| range_map = Eudocimus ruber map.svg
| range_map_caption =
| synonyms = * ''Scolopax rubra'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1758}}
* ''Tantalus ruber'' {{small|Linnaeus,&nbsp;1766}}
}}

The '''scarlet ibis''', sometimes called '''red ibis''' ('''''Eudocimus ruber'''''), is a [[species]] of [[ibis]] in the bird family [[Threskiornithidae]]. It inhabits tropical [[South America]] and part of the [[Caribbean]]. In form, it resembles most of the other twenty-seven extant species of ibis, but its remarkably brilliant [[Scarlet (color)|scarlet]] [[Biological pigment|coloration]] makes it unmistakable. It is one of the two national birds of [[Trinidad and Tobago]], and its [[Tupi–Guarani languages|Tupi–Guarani]] name, '''guará''', is part of the name of several [[Municipality|municipalities]] along the coast of [[Brazil]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=O GUARÁ|url=https://www.guaraquecaba.com.br/o-guara/|access-date=2020-12-31|website=Portal Guaraqueçaba}}</ref>

This medium-sized [[wader]] is a hardy, numerous, and prolific bird, and it has protected status around the world.  Its [[IUCN]] status is [[Least Concern]]. The legitimacy of ''Eudocimus ruber'' as a [[biological classification]], however, is in dispute. Traditional [[Linnaean taxonomy]] classifies it as a unique species, but some scientists have moved to reclassify it as a [[subspecies]] of a more general American ibis species, along with its close relative, the [[American white ibis]] (''Eudocimus albus'').

==Taxonomy==
The species was first classified by [[Carl Linnaeus]] in 1758. Initially given the [[binomial nomenclature]] of  ''Scolopax rubra''<ref name=Colonial1987/> (the name incorporates the [[Latin]] adjective ''ruber'', "red"), the species was later designated ''Guara rubra'' and ultimately ''Eudocimus ruber''.<ref name=Avibase>{{Cite web |url=http://avibase.bsc-eoc.org/species.jsp?avibaseid=45039A43F7F8A9CF |title=Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber) (Linnaeus, 1758) |author=Denis Lepage |year=2003 |publisher=BirdLife International |work=Avibase.bsc-eoc.org |access-date=12 December 2011 }}</ref>

Biologically the scarlet ibis is very closely related to the [[American white ibis]] (''Eudocimus albus'') and is sometimes considered [[Conspecificity|conspecific]] with it,<ref name=Colonial1987>{{Cite journal | last1 = Ramo | first1 = Cristina| last2 = Busto | first2 = Benjamin  | title = Hybridization Between the Scarlet Ibis (''Eudocimus ruber'') and the White Ibis (''Eudocimus albus'') in Venezuela | journal = Colonial Waterbirds | volume = 10 | issue = 1 | pages = 111–14 | doi = 10.2307/1521240 | year = 1987 | jstor = 1521240}}</ref><ref name=Cornell2009>{{Cite web|url=http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/009/articles/introduction|author1=Kushlan, James A. |author2=Bildstein, Keith L. |title=White Ibis|work=Birds of North America Online |publisher=Cornell University |date=February 10, 2009|access-date=12 December 2011 }}</ref> leaving modern science divided over their [[Taxonomy (biology)|taxonomy]]. The two birds each have exactly the same bones, claws, beaks, feather arrangements and other features – their one marked difference lies in their pigmentation.<ref name=Zahl1954>{{Cite book |title=Coro-Coro: The World of the Scarlet Ibis |last=Zahl |first=Paul A. |author-link=Paul A. Zahl |year=1954 |publisher=Bobbs-Merrill Co. |location=Indianapolis/New York |oclc=799120 |pages=192–193 }}</ref> Traditional taxonomy has regarded the two as separate and distinct.<ref name=Zahl1954/>

Early ornithological field research revealed no natural crossbreeding among the red and white, lending support to the two-species viewpoint.<ref name=Zahl1954/> More recent observation, however, has documented significant crossbreeding and [[Hybrid (biology)|hybridization]] in the wild. Researchers Cristina Ramo and Benjamin Busto found evidence of interbreeding in a population where the ranges of the scarlet and white ibises overlap along the coast and in the [[Llanos]] in Colombia and Venezuela. They observed individuals of the two species mating and pairing, as well as hybrid ibises with pale orange plumage, or white plumage with occasional orange [[feathers]], and have proposed that these birds be classified as a single species.<ref name=Colonial1987/><!-- cites previous four sentences --> Hybridization has been known to occur frequently in captivity. However, the two color forms persist in the wild despite overlapping ranges and hybrid offspring having a distinctive color type, so according to the [[Glossary of evolutionary biology#cohesion species concept|cohesion species concept]] they would be functionally different species.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.sms.si.edu/irlspec/eudoc_albus.htm |title=Species Name: Eudocimus albus |author=K. Hill |year=2001 |publisher=Smithsonian Institution: Marine Station at Fort Pierce |work=Sms.si.edu |access-date=12 December 2011 }}</ref>

Some biologists now wish to pair them with ''Eudocimus albus'' as two [[subspecies]] of the same American ibis.<ref name=Colonial1987/> Others simply define both of them as one and the same species, with ''ruber'' being a color variation of ''albus''.<ref name=Nellis>{{Cite book |last=Nellis |first=David W. |title=Common Coastal Birds of Florida & the Caribbean |date=March 2001 |publisher=Pineapple Press Inc. |isbn=978-1-56164-191-8 |pages=151 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-REZ4R8wBg4C&pg=PA151 |access-date=12 December 2011 }}</ref>

==Description==
[[File:Scarlet Ibis juvenile RWD.jpg|left|thumb|An older juvenile with a touch of red]]
[[File:Guará alta.jpg|left|thumb|150px|Taxidermy specimen]]
[[File:Scarlet Ibis skull “Eudocimus ruber” at MAV-USP.jpg|thumb|Skull of a scarlet ibis]]
Adult [[plumage]] is virtually all [[Scarlet (color)|scarlet]]. The feathers may show various [[tints and shades]], but only the tips of their wings deviate from their namesake color. A small but reliable marking, these wingtips are a rich inky black (or occasionally dark blue) and are found only on the longest [[Flight feather#Primaries|primaries]]<ref name=UWI2011>{{Cite web |url=https://sta.uwi.edu/fst/lifesciences/sites/default/files/lifesciences/documents/ogatt/Eudocimus_ruber%20-%20Scarlet%20Ibis.pdf |title=The Online Guide to the Animals of Trinidad and Tobago: ''Eudocimus ruber'' (Scarlet Ibis) |last=Moolchan |first=Esther |year=2011 |publisher=[[University of the West Indies at St. Augustine]] |access-date=12 December 2011 }}</ref> – otherwise the birds' coloration is "a vivid orange-red, almost luminous in quality."<ref name=Moss42>{{Cite book |last=Moss |first=Steven |author2=Birdlife International |title=Remarkable Birds: 100 of the World's Most Notable Birds |year=2008 |publisher=HarperCollins |isbn=978-0-06-162664-7 |page=42 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=24i548EnrqMC&pg=PT42 |access-date=12 December 2011 }}</ref> Scarlet ibises have red bills and feet; however, the bill is sometimes blackish, especially toward the end.<ref>Ridgway, Robert. “Upon the Close Relationship Between the White and Scarlet Ibises(Eudocimus Albus and E. Rubber).” The Auk 1. 3 (1884): 239-240.</ref> They have a long, narrow, decurved bill. Their legs and neck are long and extended in flight.<ref>McWilliams, Gerald M, and Daniel W. Brauning. The Birds of Pennsylvania. Ithaca, N.Y: Cornell University Press, 2000. Print.</ref>

A juvenile scarlet ibis is a mix of grey, brown, and white. As it grows, a heavy diet of red crustaceans produces the scarlet coloration.<ref name=RossZoo>{{Cite web |url=http://rossparkzoo.com/animals/ibisscarlet.htm |title=Scarlet Ibis (''Eudocimus ruber'') |author=Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park |author-link=Binghamton Zoo at Ross Park |year=2011 |publisher=Binghamton Zoo |work=Rossparkzoo.com |access-date=12 December 2011 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120324172121/http://www.rossparkzoo.com/animals/ibisscarlet.htm |archive-date=24 March 2012 }}</ref> The color change begins with the juvenile's second [[Moulting|moult]], around the time it begins to fly: the change starts on the back and spreads gradually across the body while increasing in intensity over a period of about two years.<ref name=UWI2011/> The scarlet ibis is the only [[Wader|shorebird]] with red coloration in the world.

Adults are {{convert|55|-|63|cm}} long,<ref name=Peterson/> and the males, slightly larger than females, typically weigh about {{convert|1.4|kg}}.<ref name=UWI2011/> Their bills are also on average around 22% longer than those of females.<ref name=babbit>{{cite journal|title=Selection for sexual bill dimorphism in ibises: An evaluation of hypotheses |author1=Babbitt, Gregory A. |author2=Frederick, Peter C. |volume=30|issue=2|pages=199–206|doi=10.1675/1524-4695(2007)30[199:SFSBDI]2.0.CO;2 |url=http://www.wec.ufl.edu/faculty/frederickp/publications/Babbitt%20Frederick%2007%20Selection%20for%20bill%20dimorphism%20in%20ibises.pdf|year=2007|journal=Waterbirds|s2cid=20175660 }}</ref> The life span of the scarlet ibis is approximately sixteen years in the wild and twenty years in captivity.<ref name=UMMZ>{{Cite web |url=http://animaldiversity.org/site/accounts/information/Eudocimus_ruber.html |title=''Eudocimus ruber'': Scarlet Ibis |author=Phelps, Katherine |year=2008 |publisher=[[University of Michigan Museum of Zoology]] |access-date=12 December 2011 }}</ref> An adult scarlet ibis has a wingspan of around {{convert|54|cm}}.<ref name=UWI2011/> Though it spends most of its time on foot or wading through water, the bird is a very strong flyer:<ref name=RossZoo/> they are highly [[Bird migration|migratory]] and easily capable of long-distance [[Bird flight|flight]]. They move as [[Flock (birds)|flock]]s in a classic [[V formation]].<ref name=UWI2011/>

==Distribution and habitat==
[[File:Head of Scarlet Ibis.jpg|thumb|left|Head of scarlet ibis]]
The range of the scarlet ibis is very large, and colonies are found throughout vast areas of South America and the Caribbean islands. Native flocks exist in [[Brazil]]; [[Colombia]]; [[French Guiana]]; [[Guyana]]; [[Suriname]]; and [[Venezuela]], as well as the islands of the [[Netherlands Antilles]], and [[Trinidad and Tobago]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> Flocks gather in [[wetlands]] and other marshy habitats, including mud flats, shoreline and [[rainforest]].<ref name=UWI2011/> Outlying colonies have been identified in the coastal areas of the states of [[Espírito Santo]], [[Rio de Janeiro]], [[São Paulo (state)|São Paulo]] (for example in the Santos-Cubatão mangroves of the [[Baixada Santista]] district), [[Paraná (state)|Paraná]] and  [[Santa Catarina (state)|Santa Catarina]].<ref name=olmos01>{{cite journal|author1=Olmos, Fábio|author2=Silva E Silva, Robson |year=2001|title=Breeding Biology and Nest Site Characteristics of the Scarlet Ibis in Southeastern Brazil|journal=Waterbirds|volume=24|issue=1|pages=58–67|jstor=1522244 |doi=10.2307/1522244}}</ref> In recent years, bird colonies can be seen as far south as in the coastal areas of [[Joinville]] and the island of [[São Francisco do Sul]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=AVESCATARINENSES :: ANIMAIS|url=http://www.avescatarinenses.com.br/animais/1-aves/550-guara/4322|access-date=2020-12-31|website=www.avescatarinenses.com.br}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title=Leitora flagra ave rara na Baía da Babitonga, litoral Norte do Estado|url=https://www.nsctotal.com.br/noticias/leitora-flagra-ave-rara-na-baia-da-babitonga-litoral-norte-do-estado|access-date=2020-12-31|website=www.nsctotal.com.br|language=pt-BR}}</ref>

The highest concentrations are found in the [[Llanos]] region of western Venezuela and eastern Colombia. The fertile and remote [[tropical grassland]] [[plain]] of the Llanos provides a safe haven far from human encroachment.<ref name=Moss42/> Together with its relative the [[bare-faced ibis]], the scarlet ibis is remarkably prolific and conspicuous in the region.<ref name=HiltySchauensee>{{Cite book |last1=Hilty |first1=Steven L. |last2=de Schauensee |first2=Rodolphe Meyer |title=Birds of Venezuela |year=2003 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=978-0-691-09250-8 |pages=218 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=40mFwoALUFUC&pg=PA218 |access-date=12 December 2011 }}</ref>

Scarlet ibis [[Vagrancy (biology)|vagrants]] have been identified in Belize, Ecuador, and Panama; Aruba, Cuba, Dominica, Grenada, and Jamaica; sightings have even been made in the United States.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> The species may well have been a natural vagrant to the [[Gulf Coast]] in the 19th century or earlier – in ''[[The Birds of America]]'', [[John James Audubon]] made brief remarks regarding three ''rubra'' specimens he encountered in Louisiana.<ref name= "[[John James Audubon|Audubon]]|">{{Cite book|last= Audubon|first=John James |author-link=John James Audubon |title=The Birds of America |volume=VI |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=X4RIAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA53 |access-date=12 December 2011 |year=1843 |publisher=J.J. Audubon|pages=53 }}</ref> However, virtually all modern occurrences of the species in North America have been introduced or escaped birds. In one notable example from 1962, scarlet ibis eggs were placed in white ibis nests in Florida's [[Greynolds Park]], and the resulting population hybridised easily, producing "pink ibises" that are still occasionally seen.<ref name=Peterson>{{Cite book |last1=Peterson |first1=Roger Tory |last2=Peterson |first2=Virginia Marie |author-link=Roger Tory Peterson |title=A Field Guide to the Birds of Eastern and Central North America |year=2002 |publisher=Houghton Mifflin Harcourt |isbn=978-0-395-74047-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetobird00pete_0/page/47 47] |url=https://archive.org/details/fieldguidetobird00pete_0 |url-access=registration |access-date=12 December 2011 }}</ref><ref name="zahl67">{{Cite journal |last=Zahl |first=Paul A. |year=1967 |title=New Scarlet Ibis In Florida Skies |journal=National Geographic |volume=132 |pages=874–882 }}</ref>

==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/>

==Status==
The species has protected status throughout the world,<ref name=RossZoo/> and the [[International Union for Conservation of Nature]] has classified the scarlet ibis as a species of [[Least Concern]] on the [[IUCN Red List]].<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> Though several local populations appear to be in decline, global totals remain relatively large and the current rate of losses is not considered a threat to the species' survival.<ref name="iucn status 19 November 2021" /> Nonetheless, recent losses by established populations in French Guiana have become a concern for conservationists, and in Brazil the bird has been included on a national list of [[endangered species]].<ref name=HancockKushlan2010>{{Cite book|author1=James Hancock|author2=James A. Kushlan|title=Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World |year=2010 |publisher=A&C Black |isbn=978-1-4081-3500-6 |pages=359 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-nyzX_7pF24C&pg=PT359 |access-date=12 December 2011 }}</ref>

===Relationship with humans===
The scarlet ibis and the rufous-vented chachalaca, popularly known as the [[cocrico]], are the [[national bird]]s of [[Trinidad and Tobago]] respectively.<ref name=NatlBird>[https://web.archive.org/web/20100731081745/http://www.foreign.gov.tt/about_trinidad/national_bird/ National Bird], Trinidad and Tobago Ministry of Foreign Affairs].</ref> Both birds are featured on the [[coat of arms of Trinidad and Tobago]].<ref name="NatlBird"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.ttconnect.gov.tt/gortt/portal/ttconnect/SharedDetail?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/gortt/wcm/connect/GorTT%20Web%20Content/ttconnect/home/about+t+and+t/national+emblems/coat+of+arms |title=National Emblems |author=Government of the Republic of Trinidad |author2=Tobago |name-list-style=amp |year=2008 |publisher=Trinidad and Tobago Government Online |access-date=12 December 2011 }}</ref> The cocrico is found on Tobago, Venezuela and Colombia.<ref name=NatlBird/> The scarlet ibis is associated with Trinidad; there are not documented records of the scarlet ibis on Tobago for the last fifteen years.<ref>Martyn Kenefick, Robin Restall & Floyd Hayes, ''Helm Field Guides: Birds of Trinidad and Tobago'' (2007), p. 58.</ref>

An important local habitat for the scarlet ibis is the wildlife sanctuary of [[Caroni Swamp]] of Trinidad, a {{convert|199|ha}} wetland reserve first designated in 1953 specifically to provide a habitat for the scarlet ibis.<ref name="SalmClark">{{cite book |last1=Salm |first1=Rodney V. |last2=Clark |first2=John R. |last3=Siirila |first3=Erkki |title=Marine and Coastal Protected Areas: A guide for planners and managers |year=2000 |publisher=IUCN |isbn=978-2-8317-0540-8 |pages=334–337 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=11R4wO0BtlYC&pg=PA334 |access-date=12 December 2011}}</ref>

Using the bird as a literary symbol, American author James Hurst composed a popular short story, "[[The Scarlet Ibis]]" (1960).<ref name=Moss42/> A more recent short story, "Scarlet Ibis" by [[Margaret Atwood]], is included in ''[[Bluebeard's Egg]]'' (1983).<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lutwack |first=Leonard |title=Birds in Literature |date=February 1994 |publisher=University Press of Florida |isbn=978-0-8130-1254-4 |page=[https://archive.org/details/birdsinliteratur00lutw_0/page/235 235] |url=https://archive.org/details/birdsinliteratur00lutw_0 |url-access=registration |access-date=17 December 2011 }}</ref> The name also belongs to a book of verse by American poet [[Susan Hahn]].<ref>{{Cite book |title=The Scarlet Ibis: Poems |last=Hahn |first=Susan |author-link=Susan Hahn |year=2007 |publisher=[[Northwestern University Press]] |location=Evanston, IL |isbn=978-0-8101-5183-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=afZboyf_MisC |access-date=12 December 2011 }}</ref>
<gallery mode="packed" heights="130px">
Eudocimus ruber 01 - Young bird.jpg|Juvenile
Scarlet Ibis SMTC.jpg|The wing tips are black
Scarlet_ibis_(Eudocimus_ruber).jpg|[[Caroni Swamp]], [[Trinidad]]
Scarlet_ibis_(Eudocimus_ruber)_roosting.jpg|Roosting, [[Caroni Swamp]], [[Trinidad]]
File:Scarlet Ibis 2010.ogv|Video of a Scarlet ibis
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/954 ''Journey to Red Birds''] by [[Jan Lindblad]] (New York: Hill and Wang; 1969).

==External links==
{{Commons category|Eudocimus ruber}}
* {{Wikispecies-inline|Eudocimus ruber}}
* [http://www1.broward.edu/~ssimpson/medford.html Scarlet ibis photo gallery]

{{Threskiornithidae}}
{{Taxonbar|from=Q467996}}

[[Category:Eudocimus|scarlet ibis]]
[[Category:Birds of Brazil]]
[[Category:Birds of Venezuela]]
[[Category:Birds of the Netherlands Antilles]]
[[Category:Birds of Trinidad and Tobago]]
[[Category:Birds of the Guiana Shield]]
[[Category:Birds of Colombia]]
[[Category:National symbols of Trinidad and Tobago]]
[[Category:Birds described in 1758|scarlet ibis]]
[[Category:Birds of the Amazon rainforest]]
[[Category:Ibises]]
[[Category:Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus|scarlet ibis]]
[[Category:Articles containing video clips]]