Theristicus melanopis
Silhouette: Edwin Price · PhyloPic
In 3 days ~80% in a week >90%
The black-faced ibis (Theristicus melanopis) is a species of bird in the family Threskiornithidae. It is found in grassland and fields in southern and western South America. It has been included as a subspecies of the similar buff-necked ibis, but today all major authorities accept the split. The black-faced ibis also includes the Andean ibis (T. branickii) as a subspecies. Some taxonomic authorities (including the American Ornithological Society) still do so.
The black-faced ibis was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's Systema Naturae. He placed it in the genus Tantalus and coined the binomial name Tantalus melanopsis. Gmelin based his description on the "black-faced ibis" that had been described and illustrated in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Lathamin his book A General Synopsis of Birds. Latham had based his account on a specimen in the Leverian Museum and on drawings in the collection of the naturalist Joseph Banks. Georg Forster mentioned seeing these birds in January 1775 on "New Year's Island" (now Isla Observatorio) near Staten Island in his account of James... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Nahuel Huapi National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 2 | Torres del Paine National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile | |
| 3 | Tierra del Fuego National Park | 🇦🇷 Argentina | |
| 4 | Vicente Pérez Rosales National Park | 🇨🇱 Chile |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Santiago | 🇨🇱 Chile |
No species of the same family or order lives in Torres del Paine National Park, so these are its closest relatives here: other birds.
Likely
About 40% of wildlife watchers report a Black-faced Ibis sighting in Torres del Paine National Park on a given day, based on 679 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 15th most-seen of the 106 birds we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 80%, and over a week to over 90%, if each day is a fresh chance.
September and November
In those months about 60% of wildlife watchers report a Black-faced Ibis in Torres del Paine National Park on a given day, against about 10% in March and April, the lowest months.
Between 2 and 5 pm
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Black-faced Ibis sightings with a recorded time, and about 9 in 10 of them come between 6 am and 6 pm: it is a daytime animal.
2nd of 4
Of the 4 parks where we can rate Black-faced Ibis sightings, Torres del Paine National Park ranks 2nd at about 40%. The best odds are in Nahuel Huapi National Park (Argentina, about 50%). All parks ranked.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Black-faced Ibis is recorded against all the birds logged in Torres del Paine National Park (679 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.
