Bird Watching or Twitching in Andalucia Southern Spain

January 2006, Glossy Ibis, Plegadis falcinellus

With the body of a heron and the head and bill of a curlew the Glossy Ibis is easy enough to identify. At a distance its colour is a uniform dark brown or black, only close to will you see the metallic green and pink highlights and in bright light an overall iridescence. Identification is not a problem but the chances of seeing one here are small Very few over winter in this area, most going south of the Sahara from South East Europe and a few head for the Donana and Majorca. The one seen at Rinconcillo may be there for the winter or on it's way to Donana, either way it was a rare moment.