Glossy Ibis

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Glossy Ibis in the UK

A scarce migrant that is becoming more regular. It used to be a rare vagrant, but arrivals have grown as colonies in south-west Europe have expanded, and more than 220 birds were reported from 50 recording areas in 2022. That year also brought the first confirmed UK breeding, when a pair raised one chick in Cambridgeshire. Small flocks now turn up, and some birds stay for months or return to the same wetland for years. It is no longer treated as a national rarity.

Where and when to see a Glossy Ibis

Shallow fresh water: flooded grazing marsh, scrapes, reedbed edges and wet meadows. Most are in southern England and East Anglia, but one can appear on any wetland in Britain or Ireland. Arrivals peak in autumn and many stay through winter. RSPB Dungeness, RSPB Otmoor and RSPB Ham Wall have all held long-staying birds. They often feed with egrets or around cattle and can use the same field for weeks, so check recent local sightings before you travel.

Habitat, diet and field notes

Habitat: Marshes, flooded fields.
Diet: Aquatic invertebrates.
Field note: Gregarious; iridescent plumage.

How to identify a Glossy Ibis

About the size of a Curlew but slimmer, and it looks black at any distance. Note the long, down-curved bill, long neck and long legs. In good light a breeding adult is deep chestnut with a green and purple gloss on the wings. Young birds and winter adults are duller brown with fine white streaks on the head and neck. It flies with neck stretched and legs trailing, mixing quick wingbeats with short glides. There is no white anywhere in the plumage.

Call and song

Mostly silent in Britain. A low croak or grunt is sometimes given in flight or when flushed, but you will find one by sight, not sound. Heard something you cannot place? Bird Hear identifies UK birds from a 10 second recording, free in your browser.

Confusion species

• Eurasian Curlew: Curlew is streaky brown and buff with a white rump and a loud bubbling call, never uniformly dark.
• Great Cormorant: A distant flying Cormorant is also dark with neck out, but it is heavier, with a short hooked bill and no trailing legs.
• Sacred Ibis: Sacred Ibis, an occasional escape, has a white body with a bare black head and neck.

Related guide Bird migration in Britain.

Conservation status and Birdedex points

In the Birdedex the Glossy Ibis is a Rare tier bird, worth +8 points when you log one. It is not on the Red or Amber lists in Birds of Conservation Concern 5.

Recent UK sightings

Similar birds

• Eurasian TealCommon · Marshes
• Greylag GooseCommon · Lakes
• Whooper SwanUncommon · Lakes
• Lesser YellowlegsRare · Pools
• Black-winged StiltRare · Shallow freshwater marshes
• Citrine WagtailRare · Marshes (rare passage)

Glossy Ibis: quick answers

Is the Glossy Ibis rare in the UK?

Less than it was. It is still scarce, but birds are now present in every season and it has started to breed. Twenty years ago any Glossy Ibis was a major rarity.

Where can I see a Glossy Ibis in the UK?

Wetland reserves in southern and eastern England give the best odds, especially those with shallow floods and grazing marsh. Long-stayers are usually well reported, so a check of county bird news will tell you if one is within reach.

What does a Glossy Ibis eat?

Aquatic insects, worms, snails and small crustaceans, found by probing soft mud and shallow water with the long bill. It also takes small fish and amphibians when it can.

Kit that helps

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