Elephant Puppet gets up close to a pair of ibises
4The ibis (/ˈaɪbɪs/) (collective plural ibises;[1] classical plurals ibides[2][3] and ibes[3]) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains.[4] "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word for this group of birds. It also occurs in the scientific name of the western cattle egret (Bubulcus ibis) mistakenly identified in 1757 as being the sacred ibis.[5]
Most ibises are freshwater wetland birds using natural marshes, ponds, lakes, riversides for foraging.[16] Some ibis species such as the White-faced Ibis,[17] and Black-headed Ibis[18] benefit from flooded and irrigated agriculture. The Andean ibis is unusual in being found in high altitude grasslands of South America.[19] The foraging and nesting behaviour, and fluctuating numbers of the White ibis matches closely with water levels in the Everglades ecosystem leading to its selection as a potential indicator species for the system.[20] Few ibis species such as the Olive iibis and Green ibis are also found in dense forests. The Llanos grasslands of Venezuela have the highest global ibis diversity with seven species sharing the marshes and grasslands.[21]