White-faced Ibis, Plegadis chihi, is a 23 inch wading marsh bird with a 36 inch wingspan. It is large and its coloration is dark chestnut with metallic highlights. Its bill is long and down-curved. It is very similar to the eastern Glossy Ibis (Plegadis falcinellus), but has a band of white feathers around its bare face, and red eyes and legs. In winter, the plumages of the two birds are similar. Of the two birds, the White-faced is a bit smaller. The juveniles of the two species are almost identical.

The voice is low croaks and grunts.

It is found in salt and fresh marshes in the West of the United States. The White-faced Ibis also occurs in Canada, Central America and the southern half of South America.

The nest is found in low bushes or trees in a marsh. It is a shallow cup of reeds lined with grass. There will be 3 to 4 pale blue-green eggs. Both parents tend the nest. Incubation period is from 17 to 26 days. Chicks hatch sequentially, 1 to 2 days apart. They fledge at 5 weeks and are totally independent of their parents by 8 weeks.

This bird breeds in colonies from Oregon sporadically east to Minnesota and south to southeastern New Mexico and Texas, and east to coastal Louisiana. Winters from southern California and Gulf Coast of Texas and Louisiana to El Salvador. The breeding populations of the Texas and Louisiana coasts are year round residents.

The only ibis in the West, the White-faced overlaps with other ibises in other parts of its range. Its diet is diverse, consisting of insects, salamanders, snails, earthworms, crustaceans and small fish and shellfish. It uses its long curved bill to probe for its prey.

Its lifespan is approximately 9 years in the wild; up to 14 in captivity.

Predators of the white-faced ibis eggs, nestlings and fledglings include coyotes, skunks, raccoons and birds of prey such as peregrine falcons and red-tailed hawks. Gulls, ravens and night herons prey on the ibis chicks.