Hello, fellow bird lovers!

The black heron, as I call it, is not actually a heron but an ibis, Phimodus infuscatum. I was curious to know how to tell them apart, and it is the type of beak that determines this. The ibis is characterized by a long, curved beak that helps it search for food under mud or leaves, which differentiates it from herons, which generally have yellow, pointed beaks for quickly catching their prey.

Their diet determines the characteristics of their beaks.

The ibis generally feeds on insects, small crustaceans, worms, and also grains and leaves.

This dark-plumaged ibis is called coquito, red-faced ibis, and shaved ibis in different regions of South America. It is a bird that has adapted to living in urban areas in search of food. Where I live, it is very common to see them in groups near the garbage dump.

I have photographed it on several occasions. This time I observed it accompanied by common pigeons and rock pigeons. I approached to photograph the group, but they all flew away except for her or him—it is not very easy to differentiate between males and females. It just walked away a little, and I started to follow it and photograph it.

At times, it took flight, but not very high, and returned to the ground to continue searching for food among the dry leaves. That allowed me to take more pictures without getting too close.

This photo is my favorite, with its wings spread. Its colors are bright. Its plumage is not completely black; its beak and legs are light red, and its wings have brown and greenish feathers.

These birds are accustomed to the presence of people because the place they frequent is a sports field and a parking lot, but this one in particular was not afraid of me. I think it did not consider me a danger from which it had to flee. This allowed me to take several photographs.

This is the sequence of photos I took while it was walking.

Finally, she had moved away a little, trying to continue her search for food, and I decided I should leave her alone. She had already allowed me to take several photographs of her.

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Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoy them.

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La garcita negra como yo la llamo, realmente no es una garza sino un ibis, Phimodus infuscatum. Me dio curiosidad saber que diferenciaba una de la otra y el tipo de pico es lo que lo determina. El ibis se caracteriza por un pico largo y curvo que le ayuda a buscar su alimento bajo el lodo o las hojas y esto la diferencia de las garzas que tienen el pico generalmente amarillo y puntiagudo, para atrapar rápidamente a sus presas.
La alimentación determina las características de sus picos.

El Ibis se alimenta generalmente de insectos, pequeños crustáceos, lombrices y también granos y hojas.

A este ibis de plumaje oscuro lo llaman coquito, ibis de cara roja e ibis afeitado en diferente regiones de Suramérica. Es un ave que se ha adaptado a vivir en espacios urbanos en la búsqueda de alimento. En el lugar donde vivo es muy común verla en grupos cerca del depósito de la basura.

La he fotografiado en varias oportunidades. Esta vez la observe acompañada de las palomas comunes y las palomas tocases. Me acerque a fotografiar al grupo, pero todas volaron excepto ella o el, no es muy fácil diferenciar el macho de la hembra. Solo caminó intentando alejarse un poco y allí empecé a seguirla y a fotografiarla.

En algunas momentos levanto vuelo pero no muy alto y volvía al suelo para continuar buscando comida entre las hojas secas. Eso me permitió tomar otras fotografías sin acercarme mucho.

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Estas aves, están acostumbradas a la presencia de las personas, porque el lugar donde frecuentan, es una cancha deportiva y un estacionamiento, pero esta en especial no tuvo miedo de mi presencia, creo que no me consideró un peligro, del cual tuviera que huir. Esto me permitió tomar varias fotografías.

Esta foto es mi favorita, abriendo sus alas. Sus colores son brillantes. Su plumaje no es completamente negro, su pico y patas son de color rojo claro y sus alas tienen plumas marrones y verdosas.

Esta es la secuencia de fotos que tomé mientras ella caminaba.

Ya por último se había alejado un poco, tratando de continuar con su búsqueda de alimentos y decidí que debía dejarla tranquila. Ya me había permitido tomarle varias fotografías.

Muchas gracias por leer y espero que las disfruten.

All photos are my own, taken with a Samsung A15 phone.

Translated with DeepL.com (free version)