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© Sedgwick County Zoo, credit: Brent Ward

Puna Ibis

Plegadis ridgwayi

Physical Characteristics

  • The body has a base color of dark purplish-brown with deep glossy purple and green highlights. The head and neck are dull chestnut. The wings and tail are glossy green, with the tail being darker. The legs and feet are black. The beak is long, slender and curving.
  • Size of average adult
    • height: 2 feet
    • weight: 3 pounds
    • wingspan: 1 foot

Diet

  • Wild: amphibians, insects and small aquatic animals

Behavior

  • Fly in flocks, forming "V's" or wavy lines
  • Frequent large marshes and damp pasturelands where they forage on muddy flats, along creeks and in short grass
  • Feed socially by probing deeply in water and mud to extract prey
  • Nest in tall reeds in highland marshes inaccessible to humans

Environmental/Global

  • Habitat: temperate high-altitude zones
  • Distribution: north central Peru, south to Titicaca basin of Peru and Bolivia, and northern Chile, may also occur in northwestern Argentina
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