SOUTHEASTERN CARIBBEAN BIRDS PHOTO GALLERY

Trinidad and Tobago Field Naturalists' Club         Southeastern Caribbean Bird Alert         Trinidad and Tobago Rare Bird Committee

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO

Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber)

Adult attending nest with an apparent chick (dark spot on left side of nest) at Rousillac Swamp, Trinidad, 18 October 2002. Photo © by Russ Jones. This species nested in Caroni Swamp, Trinidad, until 1970. Abandonment of its colonies has been attributed to a physiological bottleneck in nestlings, which cannot tolerate saltwater prey; the construction of extensive canals resulted in salt intrusion throughout the swamp. However, Roger Neckles first discovered Scarlet Ibises nesting both in Caroni Swamp and Rousillac Swamp in the late 1990s.