The Scarlet Ibis lives in groups in wetlands of northern South America. Adults are bright scarlet, while chicks are dark.
Adults have bright scarlet plumage with black wingtips. Chicks are black.
Scarlet ibis courtship includes snapping the bill, dipping the head, and pulling at twigs. In an Amsterdam zoo colony, twig-pulling also appeared in greetings and before mating. Nests usually held two or three eggs, incubated by both parents for 21–23 days.
For about three weeks after hatching, one parent stayed near the nest almost continuously. Parents chased away other birds that approached an unattended nest. Of 16 birds that bred in 1982, the 12 that bred again the following year all had different partners. These observations describe the courtship and care of young in a managed colony.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.
In the zoo colony, disturbance by people or domestic cats was linked to losses of nests or young. Reducing disturbance around nests helps maintain a suitable captive breeding environment.