Plegadis falcinellus
Silhouette: Mathieu Pélissié · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~20% in a week ~40%
The glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus) is a water bird in the order Pelecaniformes and the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The scientific name derives from Ancient Greek plegados and Latin, falcis, both meaning "sickle" and referring to the distinctive shape of the bill.
The historical name black curlew was used for the glossy ibis in Norfolk at least until the early 19th century, and this name also appears in Anglo-Saxon literature. Yalden and Albarella do not mention this species as occurring in medieval England.
This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean regions of the Americas. It is thought to have originated in the Old World and spread naturally from Africa to northern South America in the 19th century, from where it spread to North America. The glossy ibis was first documented in the New World in 1817 (New Jersey). Audubon saw the species just once in Florida in 1832. It expanded its range substantially northwards in the 1940s and to the west in the 1980s. This species is migratory; most European birds winter in Africa, and in North America... Wikipedia →
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Luxor | 🇪🇬 Egypt | |
| 2 | Cairo | 🇪🇬 Egypt | |
| 3 | Madurai | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 4 | Rabat | 🇲🇦 Morocco | |
| 5 | Vasai-Virar | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 6 | Coimbatore | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 7 | Kalyan-Dombivli | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 8 | Vijayawada | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 9 | Chennai | 🇮🇳 India | |
| 10 | Bengaluru | 🇮🇳 India |
With luck
About 10% of wildlife watchers report a Glossy Ibis sighting in South Luangwa National Park on a given day, based on 43 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 140th most-seen of the 257 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 20%, and over a week to about 40%, if each day is a fresh chance.
March–June, August–October and December
In those months about 10% of wildlife watchers report a Glossy Ibis in South Luangwa National Park on a given day, against under 5% in January–February, July and November, the lowest months.
Between 8 and 11 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Glossy Ibis sightings with a recorded time, and about 8 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
27th of 69
Of the 69 parks where we can rate Glossy Ibis sightings, South Luangwa National Park ranks 27th at about 10%. The best odds are in Doñana National Park (Spain, about 70%), Keoladeo National Park (India, about 60%) and Camargue (France, about 60%). All parks ranked.
Same family: Threskiornithidae
The closest relatives of the Glossy Ibis that you can see in South Luangwa National Park (family Threskiornithidae, Ibises and Spoonbills) are African Sacred Ibis (about 70%), Hadada (about 70%) and African Spoonbill (about 30%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Glossy Ibis is recorded against all the birds logged in South Luangwa National Park (43 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
