The Columbus Zoo has two white-faced ibises in its North American aviary. The birds were perhaps first-years in 2018. All About Birds says, "In good light, note the metallic green and bronze wings."
|
May 7, 2018
|
|
July 25, 2018 - They've got brown heads and necks with a little red.
|
|
August 7, 2018 - Here's the whole bird. The red on the back is actually the inside leading edge of the wing.
|
|
April 3, 2019 - The next spring, the red is gone. (This picture is of the golden plover at the back. I thought it might be interesting to have the two ibises out-of-focus in front. They're on the roof their winter home in the aviary.)
|
|
May 15, 2019 - Six weeks later, the ibises' necks and breasts are red, and we see why they're called white-faced. (I don't know what the ceremony is. If it's related to mating, nothing will come of it because both are male.)
|
|
July 1, 2019 - The colors are still strong after another six weeks.
|
|
November 4, 2019 - Back to brown.
|
|
June 11, 2020 - Looking fancy again.
|
As far as I know, feathers don't change color, so there must be two molts per year: One to turn red, presumably for breeding season, and another to return to brown. Or maybe the red just fades.