Olive Ibis

Bostrychia olivacea (Du Bus de Gisignies, 1838)

Olive Ibis, Bostrychia olivacea, breeds in western, central and eastern Africa and lives in dense tropical forest. It is a small ibis with a brown crest that becomes purple near the neck, a feature that helps separate it at close range from similar species. The adult has dusky brown plumage with green and bronze gloss, a coral red bill, dark blue tail feathers and a bluish black face. It is hard to pick out on the ground and is more often noticed in flight at dawn and dusk. Four subspecies are recognised.

Order

Pelecaniformes

Family

Threskiornithidae — Ibises, Spoonbills

Breeding range

Africa: w, c, e