Not gold, but glossy

Not gold, but glossy.....The Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) - found in Hong Kong, the USA and England....

This is a medium-sized wading bird that I photographed in the USA, but its found in Hong Kong too....where I saw one in the distance in Mai Po where it is considered a rare vagrant rather than a regular resident or migrant. It likes the flooded fishponds and marshes in the northwest New Territories, and these are the same rich wetland systems that host egrets, herons, spoonbills and wintering shorebirds — so if one turns up, that’s where it’s usually found.

Also in England, where historically, the Glossy Ibis was a rare vagrant in the UK, with only occasional records. However, sightings have become much more frequent in recent decades as populations expand northward across Europe, so I will be looking out for one.

It has a long, curved bill for probing in mud and shallow water, and adults show iridescent plumage — reddish-brown with glossy green, bronze or purple highlights as in the pics.

📏 Size: About 48 – 66 cm long with a wingspan around 88 – 105 cm. 🐾 Diet: Aquatic invertebrates, crustaceans, small fish, frogs and other small prey found by probing mud with their sensitive bill.