Scarlet ibis
Eudocimus ruber (Linnaeus, 1758)
The scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber) is a bird in the family Threskiornithidae and the order Pelecaniformes. It is a small bird with a representative adult body mass of 660.1 g, and reported values range from 588 to 740 g.
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Quick facts about the scarlet ibis
The scarlet ibis is a carnivorous aquatic predator of wetland habitats with a terrestrial lifestyle, and it is partially migratory. Its clutch has 2 eggs incubated for 23 days, and it is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, not an IUCN threatened category.
- Weight
- 588 g – 740 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 33.2 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 23 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 2src for Young per litter or clutch
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Photos of the scarlet ibis
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the scarlet ibis live?
Not recorded
What is the scarlet ibis?
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 coloration makes it unmistakable. It is one of the two national birds of Trinidad and Tobago, and its Tupi–Guarani name, guará, is part of the name of several municipalities along the coast of Brazil.
This medium-sized wading bird is hardy, numerous, and prolific, 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).
From the Wikipedia article “Scarlet ibis” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Scarlet_ibis&oldid=1383925028), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the scarlet ibis endangered?
The scarlet ibis is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the scarlet ibis classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPelecaniformes
- familyThreskiornithidae
- genusEudocimus
- SpeciesEudocimus ruber (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Eudocimes ruber, Guara rubra, Scolopax rubra
Other names and names in other languages (52)
- أبو منجل القرمزيArabic
- Червен ибисBulgarian
- Ibiz ruzBreton
- Ibis roigCatalan
- ibis escarlataCatalan
- ibis rudýCzech
- ibis cochWelsh
- Rød IbisDanish
- Roter SichlerGerman
- ScharlachsichlerGerman
- ibiso ruĝaEsperanto
- Skarlata ibisoEsperanto
- Corocoro rojoSpanish
- Puna-lääsiibisEstonian
- PunaiibisEstonian
- punaiibis (puna-lääsiibis)Estonian
- اکراس آجریPersian
- rubiini-iibisFinnish
- Ibis rougeFrench
- מגלן שניHebrew
- ružičasti ibisCroatian
- SkarlátbatlaHungarian
- Ibis merahIndonesian
- Ibis rossoItalian
- Ibis scarlattoItalian
- ショウジョウトキJapanese
- МысырбзууплъKabardian
- rusvasis ibisLithuanian
- Raudonasis ibisLithuanian
- sarkanais ibissLatvian
- Rode IbisDutch
- Ibis CòráPapiamento
- Ibis KòráPapiamento
- ibis szkarłatnyPolish
- guaráPortuguese
- íbis-escarlatePortuguese
- Алый ибисRussian
- Красный ибисRussian
- Ibis červenýSlovak
- kvara červenáSlovak
- rdeči srpačSlovenian
- Crveni ibisSerbian
- flamingoSranan Tongo
- röd ibisSwedish
- Al AynakTurkish
- Kızıl aynakTurkish
- ібіс червонийUkrainian
- Cò quăm đỏVietnamese
- 紅鹮Chinese
- 美州紅鹮Chinese
- 美洲紅䴉Chinese
- 美洲红鹮Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataIUCN Red List
Relatives of the scarlet ibis
Other species in the same genus Eudocimus.
American white ibis
Eudocimus albus
CompareScarlet ibis vs American white ibisScarlet ibis vs Eudocimus leiseyi
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the scarlet ibis?
The scarlet ibis is a bird in the family Threskiornithidae, within the order Pelecaniformes.
How heavy is the scarlet ibis?
The scarlet ibis has a representative adult body mass of 660.1 g, with reported values from 588 to 740 g.
What does the scarlet ibis eat?
The scarlet ibis is an aquatic predator and a carnivore.
Is the scarlet ibis endangered?
No. The scarlet ibis is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, which is not an IUCN threatened category.
How long does the scarlet ibis live?
Sources give a lifespan of 33.2 years for the scarlet ibis.
How many eggs does the scarlet ibis lay?
The scarlet ibis lays a clutch of 2 eggs, which are incubated for 23 days.
What habitat does the scarlet ibis use?
The scarlet ibis lives in wetland habitat, and its geographic range covers 816,300 km².
Who named the scarlet ibis?
The scarlet ibis, Eudocimus ruber, was named by (Linnaeus, 1758).
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds · CC BY 4.0 · v7
Tobias, J.A. et al. (2022) AVONET: morphological, ecological and geographical data for all birds. Ecology Letters 25: 581–597. https://doi.org/10.1111/ele.13898. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.16586228.v7 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
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Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/scarlet-ibis
“Scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/scarlet-ibis.
@misc{scarlet_ibis_2026,
title = {Scarlet ibis (Eudocimus ruber)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/scarlet-ibis},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}