Black-faced Ibis Theristicus melanopis Scientific name definitions

71–76 cm. Lacks white on wing; different proportions from otherwise similar T. caudatus. Immature  has faint dusky streaks on neck  , and scalloped wing-coverts, produced by buff feather edges.

Formerly, with T. branickii, considered a race of T. caudatus; specific separation from T. branickii recently demonstrated (1 Collar, N. J., and J. P. Bird (2011). Phenotypic discrimination of the Andean Ibis (Theristicus branickii). Wilson Journal of Ornithology 123(3):459–463. Close ), being based on rufous-chestnut of crown forming a distinct cap and not continuing smudgily onto face and upper neck (2); presence of a throat wattle (3); rusty-buff vs whitish patch on upper belly (2); narrower belly patch (ns[2]); longer bill (2); and shorter tail (2). Monotypic.

S Chile and S Argentina, migrating outside breeding season to N Argentina; isolated population in coastal Peru.

Open country in fields, meadows, pastures, ploughed and cultivated fields, damp valleys in places with rushes, arid ranchland and upland bunch grass heaths; also marshy areas and borders of lakes and rivers; sometimes in sandy habitats with very little vegetation; also in forest glades or in open forest without standing water. Usually nests in rocky gullies, on cliffs, in reedbeds, and occasionally in woods. From near sea-level up to 3000 m.

Southern populations of Chile and Argentina migrate to pampas in N Argentina. Breeding summer visitor to Tierra del Fuego: pre-breeding (spring) migration starts in late Aug and autumn migration in late Jan, with most birds leaving by late Apr, with very few records of birds overwintering there. Flies in lines, in flocks of > 100 birds during migration, sometimes at great heights. Irregular vagrants appear on Falkland Is , in parties of up to seven birds (2 Woods, R. W. (1988). The Birds of the Falkland Islands. Anthony Nelson, Oswestry, England. Close , 3 Gregory, P. (1994) Notes on new and scarce birds in the Falkland Islands 1988–1990. Bulletin of the British Ornithologists' Club 114: 12–20. Close ) (generally believed to involve the present species, rather than T. caudatus).

Diet includes insects , worms, frogs, salamanders and occasionally rodents. Large quantities of fossorial insect larvae and of marine molluscs (Mytilus) have been recorded at some locations. Recent study of stomach contents of 32 individuals wintering on S Chilean pastures recorded invertebrates alone, with earthworms commonly taken, but less often than their availability predicted; lepidopteran larvae and larvae of southern green chafer (Hylamorpha elegans, Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae) were particularly selected, the chafer larvae having a higher mean biomass and energy content than all other prey consumed (4 Gantz, A. (2010). Winter food preference of Black-faced Ibis (Theristicus melanopis Gmelin 1789) in pastures of southern Chile. Orn. Neotropical. 21(2): 241–250. Close ). The stomach of large chick collected in Tierra del Fuego contained fragments of the apparently complete shell of a sheldgoose (Chloephaga) egg. Feeds alone, in pairs or in small flocks of 3–12 birds, but apparently in larger groups in winter. It forages by walking slowly, probing bill into soil and vegetation.

Quite vocal. Main call a loud double or triple cackle “kha-keek-kek”, repeated at intervals (similar to T. caudatus, but thinner and less nasal). Also loose series  of cackles “kek-kek-kek-kek-kek..”. At roost sites, may give a long crescendo series of cackles starting with low grunts and culminating in raucous barks before dying away, e.g. “gro-gro-gro-gra-grak-GRAK-GRAK-GRAK-GRAK-gro-gro”.

Lays Sept–Mar in C Peru, Sept–Dec in S Chile, Argentine Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego. Colonial, sometimes with Black-crowned Night-herons (Nycticorax nycticorax), or with cormorants in S of range; colonies of 10–30 pairs in Chile, over 50 pairs in colony in Tierra del Fuego; less often solitary. Nest is voluminous platform of dry branches and sticks  , lined with grass or rush stems; when colony is in reedbeds, nest made of dry reeds; situated on rocky outcrops or cliff ledges  , on ground near water, in reedbeds, or occasionally in branches of trees, usually large, including exotic conifers, mainly Douglas fir (Pseudotsuga menziesii), in urban areas in S Chile (5 Raimilla, V., Rau, J.R. and Niklitschek, E.J. (2015). Use of exotic conifers as nesting sites by Black-faced Ibis (Theristicus melanopis melanopis) in an urban area of southern Chile. Stud. Neotrop. Fauna Environ. 50(2): 130–136. Close ). Clutch 2–3 eggs; chicks have grey down, paler on head and below.

Not globally threatened (Least Concern). Population not known precisely but is estimated at > 25,000 birds. Common in S Chile and S Argentina, but uncommon to rare in coastal Peru and N Chile. A partial census in July 1990 yielded just 158 birds in Chile. During migration, flocks of 123 and 112 recorded in S Buenos Aires province, Argentina, in 1967 and 1968 respectively. Nests on Chungungo I, some 30 km off NC Chilean coast (6 Hertel, F., Martinez, D., Lemus, M. and Torres-Mura, J. C. (2005). Birds from Chungungo, Tilgo, and Pájaros Islands in north-central Chile. J. Field Orn.. 76(2):197–203. Close ). In Peru a scarce inhabitant of coastal hills, from sea-level to 2500 m and is now generally rare, with most records coming from the NW, N to Piura (7 Suárez Pingo, F.E. and More, A. (2015). Registros de la Bandurria de Cara Negra (Theristicus melanopis) en las lagunas Ñapique y La Niña, Sechura – Piura. Boletín UNOP. 10(2): 31–36. In Spanish with English summary. Close ), but with recent reports of breeding at Tacna in S (8 Vizcarra, J. K., and T. E. Høgsås (2010). Descubrimiento de dos sitios de anidamiento de Theristicus melanopis melanopis en Tacna, sur de Perú. Cotinga 32:111–112. Close ).