# Another "What was this bird?" Thread **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [July 4, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-was-this-bird-thread/363168 "2006-07-04T16:29:54Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 4:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-was-this-bird-thread/363168/1 "2006-07-04T16:29:54Z")
I could look it up somewhere, but this is more fun. I was in Reno and saw a smallish, all-black crane with a downward-curving orange beak. What did I see? ---
**Author:** ![yabob](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/yabob/32/2821_2.png) [@yabob](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/yabob)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-was-this-bird-thread/363168/2 "2006-07-04T16:54:44Z")
Double crested cormorant, which ranges all over North America? [http://www.diabloaudubon.com/birds/Pete%20Warden/Cormorant.jpg](http://www.diabloaudubon.com/birds/Pete%20Warden/Cormorant.jpg) [![](http://birdsofsanibel.free.fr/Images/2005/Double-crested%20Cormorant.jpg) ](http://birdsofsanibel.free.fr/Images/2005/Double-crested%20Cormorant.jpg) The actual ornithologists will probably be along shortly. ---
**Author:** ![Glassy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ea666f/32.png) [@Glassy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Glassy)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-was-this-bird-thread/363168/3 "2006-07-04T17:33:27Z")
By “crane” you mean a longish-legged wading bird, yes? > **[Glossy Ibis - Plegadis falcinellus - NatureWorks](http://www.nhptv.org/natureworks/glossyibis.htm)** > > The glossy ibis is about 20 inches tall with a wingspan of about three feet. It has a long, dark gray bill that is curved down. It has dark purple to black feathers on its head, neck, back and belly. Its legs are long and black and its wings and tail... Sounds sort of like a glossy ibis, but according to my book (National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds, 3rd ed., 1999) Reno is not their usual place to hang out. “Glossy Ibises inhabit freshwater and saltwater marshes… Rare inland wanderer, chiefly in spring; casual west to Colorado.” ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-was-this-bird-thread/363168/4 "2006-07-04T17:47:34Z")
[QUOTE=Glassy] By “crane” you mean a longish-legged wading bird, yes? > **[Glossy Ibis | Plegadis falcinellus - NHPBS NatureWorks](https://natureworks.nhpbs.org/animals/glossy-ibis/)** > > The Glossy Ibis is 18.9-26 inches (48-66 cm) in length with a wingspan of 2.1-2.6 feet (0.64-0.79 m). Sounds sort of like a glossy ibis, but according to my book (National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds, 3rd ed., 1999) Reno is not their usual place to hang out. “Glossy Ibises inhabit freshwater and saltwater marshes… Rare inland wanderer, chiefly in spring; casual west to Colorado.” [/QUOTE] In Reno, it would be the very closely related [White-faced Ibis](http://www.mbr-pwrc.usgs.gov/Infocenter/i1870id.html), which replaces the Glossy in the western US. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 5:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-was-this-bird-thread/363168/5 "2006-07-04T17:47:43Z")
It could have been a [white-faced ibis](http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/71/overview/White-faced_Ibis.aspx). They breed in the Western US, including Nevada. ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-was-this-bird-thread/363168/6 "2006-07-04T17:48:48Z")
I simulposted **Colibri**! Yay me! 😃 ---
**Author:** ![garygnu](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/garygnu/32/2924_2.png) [@garygnu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/garygnu)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-was-this-bird-thread/363168/7 "2006-07-04T18:00:12Z")
[QUOTE=Glassy] By “crane” you mean a longish-legged wading bird, yes? > **[Glossy Ibis | Plegadis falcinellus - NHPBS NatureWorks](https://natureworks.nhpbs.org/animals/glossy-ibis/)** > > The Glossy Ibis is 18.9-26 inches (48-66 cm) in length with a wingspan of 2.1-2.6 feet (0.64-0.79 m). Sounds sort of like a glossy ibis, but according to my book (National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds, 3rd ed., 1999) Reno is not their usual place to hang out. “Glossy Ibises inhabit freshwater and saltwater marshes… Rare inland wanderer, chiefly in spring; casual west to Colorado.” [/QUOTE] The pictures and the size match, except the bill looked much more orange. There is some water near where I saw it. By “crane” I mean I saw it flying, and it held its neck out straight (not like a heron). ---
**Author:** ![Polycarp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/82dd89/32.png) [@Polycarp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Polycarp)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-was-this-bird-thread/363168/8 "2006-07-04T18:31:25Z")
It was probably a white-faced ibis which had just finished a bag of Cheetos (hence the orange bill). 😛 ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [July 4, 2006, 6:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/another-what-was-this-bird-thread/363168/9 "2006-07-04T18:45:15Z")
[QUOTE=garygnu] The pictures and the size match, except the bill looked much more orange. There is some water near where I saw it. By “crane” I mean I saw it flying, and it held its neck out straight (not like a heron). [/QUOTE] The bill of the White-faced Ibis is more-or-less grayish, but can look a bit pinkish. I suppose it might look orangish in certain lights, especially near sunset. Another possibility is that it was coated with orangish mud. Ibises [fly with their necks extended](http://www.schmoker.org/BirdPics/Photos/ShorebirdsWaders/WFIB5.jpg), unlike herons. White-faced Ibis is really about the only all-dark wading bird with a curved bill that would be in Nevada. A less likely possibility is [Long-billed Curlew](http://www.channelislandsrestoration.com/photos/images/Long-billed-Curlew1.jpg), but that wouldn’t look blackish and isn’t that cranelike.