The photo atop this entry features a Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber) who is a bird type I met in Central Park Zoo nearly a week and a half ago. This variety is found in the wild Tropical rainforests and mangroves of Central America and northern South America.
The zoo's web-page describes them as having being "solid scarlet except for black wing tips (and having ) a bill that is long, thin and curved downward; (with a) neck (that) is long and slender; (their) legs are also long and thin with partially webbed feet; juveniles are dull, grayish brown and they grow up to twenty-four inches."
Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber) eat "shrimp, crabs, various crustaceans, mollusks, and insects" and have a "life span of up to 20 years."
Additionally "the scarlet Ibis is the national bird of Trinidad and Tobago. It belongs to the same order as herons, spoonbills, and storks. Scarlet ibises forage for food by probing their long curved bills into soft mud. They also are known to sway their bills back and forth in shallow water to capture prey."
