''Eudocimus'' is a genus of
ibises,
wading birds of the family
Threskiornithidae. They occur in the warmer parts of the
New World with representatives from the southern United States south through
Central America, the
West Indies, and
South America.
Taxonomy and Systematics
The genus ''Eudocimus'' appears to be most closely related to (but more primitive than) ''
Plegadis'', the latter distinguished anatomically by the conformation of the
tarsometatarsus
The tarsometatarsus is a bone that is only found in the lower leg of birds and some non-avian dinosaurs. It is formed from the fusion of several bones found in other types of animals, and homologous to the mammalian tarsus (ankle bones) and meta ...
. The fossil record is poor, but the Early
Miocene fossil species ''
Plegadis paganus
''Gerandibis'' is an extinct genus of ibis known from fossil remains from early Miocene (Aquitanian) beds in France. It contains a single species, ''Gerandibis pagana'', which was originally described by Milne-Edwards in 1868 as ''Ibis pagana''. ...
'' has some intermediate features.
It has two
foramina in the intertrochlear groove of its distal tarsometatarsus, as do ''Plegadis'' in contrast to the single foramen of ''Eudocimus'' and many other bird species. The derived nature of this species indicates ibises belonging to ''Eudocimus'' were already in existence at this time.
A 2010 study of
mitochondrial DNA
Mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA or mDNA) is the DNA located in mitochondria, cellular organelles within eukaryotic cells that convert chemical energy from food into a form that cells can use, such as adenosine triphosphate (ATP). Mitochondrial D ...
of the spoonbills by Chesser and colleagues, which included ''E. ruber'', ''
Nipponia nippon'' and ''
Threskiornis aethiopicus'' found that ''E. ruber'' was an early offshoot and not closely related to a clade containing the spoonbills and Old World ibises.
Remains similar to ''E. albus'' have been found in Middle
Pliocene deposits of the Bone Valley formation in central Florida, and Lower Pliocene deposits of the Yorktown Formation at Lee Creek in North Carolina.
[ Two species, one living and one extinct, have been recovered from the Talara Tar Seeps in northern coastal Peru. '']Eudocimus peruvianus
''Eudocimus'' is a genus of ibises, wading birds of the family Threskiornithidae. They occur in the warmer parts of the New World with representatives from the southern United States south through Central America, the West Indies, and South Amer ...
'' was described from a tarsometatarsus that differed slightly from ''E. albus'', whose remains were also found there. Remains of neither species are common in the beds. The tar seeps have been dated at 13,900 years old. The American white ibis is still found in Peru.
Species
There are just two living species in this genus,
The two species hybridise, and are sometimes considered conspecific.
Description
These birds are found in marshy wetlands
A wetland is a distinct ecosystem that is flooded or saturated by water, either permanently (for years or decades) or seasonally (for weeks or months). Flooding results in oxygen-free (anoxic) processes prevailing, especially in the soils. The ...
, often near coasts. They build stick nests in trees or bushes over water, and a typical clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device that engages and disengages power transmission, especially from a drive shaft to a driven shaft. In the simplest application, clutches connect and disconnect two rotating shafts (drive shafts or line shafts). ...
is two to five eggs. ''Eudocimus'' ibises are monogamous and colonial
Colonial or The Colonial may refer to:
* Colonial, of, relating to, or characteristic of a colony or colony (biology)
Architecture
* American colonial architecture
* French Colonial
* Spanish Colonial architecture
Automobiles
* Colonial (1920 a ...
, often nesting in mixed colonies with other wading species.
Adults are 56–61 cm long with an 85–95 cm wingspan. They have long curved bills, pink legs and bare red faces. The plumage is all-white (''albus'') or all-scarlet (''ruber''), except for the black wing-tips, which are easily visible in flight. Juveniles are largely brown with white underparts and duller bare parts.
''Eudocimus'' ibises feed by probing with their long, downcurved beaks. Their diet consists of fish, frogs, crustaceans and insects. They fly with neck and legs outstretched, often in long, loose lines, especially on their way to or from the night-time roosts.
References
* ''A guide to the birds of Costa Rica'' by F Gary Stiles and Alexander F Skutch,
* ''Birds of Venezuela'' by Steven L Hilty,
{{Taxonbar, from=Q992312
Bird genera
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