White-faced ibis
Plegadis chihi (Vieillot, 1817)
The white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) is a species in the family Threskiornithidae, order Pelecaniformes. Recorded adults weigh 546 g to 691 g and live up to 14.5 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

Quick facts about the white-faced ibis
- Weight
- 546 g – 691 gsrc for Weight
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- 14.5 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
- Longest recorded lifespan
- 20.4 years
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- wetlandsrc for Habitat
- Egg incubation
- 21.3 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 3.06src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
- Migration
- Partialsrc for Migration
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
Where does the white-faced ibis live?
Not recorded
What is the white-faced ibis?
The white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) is a wading bird in the ibis family, Threskiornithidae native to the Americas.
This species breeds colonially in marshes, usually nesting in bushes or low trees. Its breeding range extends from southwestern Canada and the western United States south through Mexico, as well as from southeastern Brazil and southeastern Bolivia south to central Argentina, and along the coast of central Chile. Its winter range extends from southern California and Louisiana south to include the rest of its breeding range.
From the Wikipedia article “White-faced ibis” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=White-faced_ibis&oldid=1383332509), 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 white-faced ibis endangered?
The white-faced 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 white-faced ibis classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classAves
- orderPelecaniformes
- familyThreskiornithidae
- genusPlegadis
- SpeciesPlegadis chihi (Vieillot, 1817)
Synonyms Numenius chihi, Plegadis chichi, Plegadis falcinellus guarauna, Plegadis guarauna, Plegadis mexicana, Ramphastos piperivorus, Selenidera piperivora piperivora, Tantalus chalcopterus, Tantalus mexicanus
Other names and names in other languages (49)
- White-faced glossy ibisEnglish
- RooiwangibisAfrikaans
- أبو منجل أبيض الوجهArabic
- أبو منجل اللماع أبيض الوجهArabic
- Акуляравая каравайкаBelarusian
- Ibiz dremm wennBreton
- capó carablancCatalan
- ibis americkýCzech
- ibis wynepwynWelsh
- Hvidmasket IbisDanish
- BrillensichlerGerman
- blankmaska ibisoEsperanto
- Ibis CariblancoSpanish
- Cuervillo de cañadaSpanish
- Cuervo de pantanoSpanish
- Ibis cara blancaSpanish
- Ibis Ojos RojosSpanish
- Morito cariblancoSpanish
- prill-iibisEstonian
- amerikanpronssi-iibisFinnish
- Ibis à face blancheFrench
- Karâu'iGuarani
- bjelolici ibisCroatian
- fehérarcú batlaHungarian
- Ibis facciabiancaItalian
- カオジロブロンズトキJapanese
- akiniuotasis ibisLithuanian
- briļlu ibissLatvian
- WitmaskeribisDutch
- Amerikaanse ibisDutch
- hvitgrimeibisNorwegian
- Ibis Cara BlancoPapiamento
- Ibis Kara BlankuPapiamento
- ibis amerykańskiPolish
- caraúnaPortuguese
- Caraúna-de-cara-brancaPortuguese
- íbis-de-faces-brancasPortuguese
- Очковая каравайкаRussian
- ibisovec okuliarnatýSlovak
- Beloliki ražanjSerbian
- maskibisSwedish
- vitmaskad ibisSwedish
- Vitpannad bronsibisSwedish
- Ak yüzlü aynakTurkish
- Ak Yüzlü ÇeltikçiTurkish
- коровайка американськаUkrainian
- 白脸彩鹮Chinese
- 普納高原彩鹮Chinese
- 白臉彩鹮Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the white-faced ibis
Other species in the same genus Plegadis.
CompareWhite-faced ibis vs Glossy ibisWhite-faced ibis vs Puna ibisWhite-faced ibis vs Ibis sacra
Common questions
Answered only where our data holds the answer.
How big is the white-faced ibis?
An adult white-faced ibis weighs 546 g – 691 g, according to values recorded on Wikidata.
Is the white-faced ibis endangered?
The white-faced ibis is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.
How long does the white-faced ibis live?
The white-faced ibis has a recorded lifespan of 14.5 years.
What kind of animal is the white-faced ibis?
The white-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi) belongs to the family Threskiornithidae in the order Pelecaniformes.
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). White-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-faced-ibis
“White-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-faced-ibis.
@misc{white_faced_ibis_2026,
title = {White-faced ibis (Plegadis chihi)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/white-faced-ibis},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}
