Cattle Egret (Bubulcus ibis)

Range: Originally found in Africa, Europe and Asia, the Cattle Egret is now found on nearly every continent, with birds in Australia originating from Asia. The cattle egret nests in colonies, which are often found around bodies of water. The colonies are usually found in woodlands near lakes or rivers, in swamps, or on small inland or coastal islands, and are sometimes shared with other wetland birds, such as herons, egrets, ibises, and cormorants. Cattle egrets exploit drier and open habitats more than other heron species. Their feeding habitats include seasonally inundated grasslands, pastures, farmlands, wetlands, and rice paddies. They often accompany cattle or other large mammals, catching insect and small vertebrate prey disturbed by these animals.

Description:  The cattle egret is a small white heron about 19-21 inches in length with a wingspan of about three feet. It has short legs and a thick neck compared to other species of egrets. Adults have dull yellow or orange bills and dull orange legs. Immature cattle egrets have black legs and bills. Adult Cattle Egrets are all white with a yellow bill and legs. In breeding plumage they have golden plumes on their head, chest, and back. ... Cattle Egrets stalk insects and other small animals on the ground in grassy fields. They are much less often seen in water than other herons.

Diet:  Mostly insects. When associating with grazing animals in fields, diet is mostly large insects, especially grasshoppers, crickets, flies; also frogs, spiders, moths. Elsewhere may feed on crayfish, earthworms, snakes, nestling birds, eggs, sometimes fish.

Lifespan: In the wild, a healthy cattle egret will live 10 years. In captivity, they can add on 2-3 years should they remain healthy.

Caribbean flamingo  (Phoenicopterus ruber)

Range:  Caribbean Flamingos are found in the lagoons, mudflats and lakes of the Caribbean, the Yucatan Peninsula and the Galapagos Islands. They inhabit muddy, shallow lakes that can be either alkaline or brackish, and they also inhabit coastal mudflats, estuaries, lagoons, and salt-lakes. Despite their appearance, flamingos have an ability to tolerate extreme conditions makes them well suited for harsh winters.

Description: Flamingos are pale pink in color, with darker pink and black flight feathers. They have dull yellow or yellow-gray legs that have pink bands at the joints and pink webbed feet. They have long slim necks and extremely long, slender legs. The bill is bent downward in the middle and is part white and part black. Like all flamingos, the Chilean flamingo has striking pink plumage with crimson feathers along the edge of the wings. However, flamingos are not born with stunning color. Their color comes from carotenoid pigments which they consume as part of their diet. Flamingos feed with their beak upside down.

Diet: Flamingos have shallow-keeled bills and feed on insects, aquatic invertebrates, and small fishes. In the wild, flamingos eat algae, crustaceans, brine shrimp, diatoms, and aquatic plants. At the zoo, a special “flamingo fare” is served. To preserve their rosy color at the zoo, flamingos are fed a commercially prepared diet high in carotenoids.

Lifespan: Young reach maturity at 3 to 5 years old. Baby flamingos are gray or white. They will turn pink within the first couple years of life. Flamingos live 20 to 30 years in the wild or up to 50 years in a zoo.

Ringed Teal Duck (Callonetta leucophrys)

Range: Ringed teals live in wetlands in South America from southern Bolivia, Paraguay, and southwestern Brazil, to northeastern Argentina and Uruguay. They are found near secluded pools, small streams, swampy tropical forests, ponds, marshy clearings in low woodlands, and often in forested habitats 

Description: Ringed teals are members of the wood duck group. Ringed teals have slender, gray-blue bills and brown eyes. They have light pink legs and feet and the toes have strong, pointed claws that allow them to easily perch in trees. The plumage of adults has beautiful iridescent green patterns. Size stats are: Length: 14-15 inches; Wingspan: 28 inches; Weight: 11-12 ounces.

Diet: As a predominately aquatic species, ringed teals eat a variety of aquatic plants and invertebrates, as well as any seeds that can be found. Ringed teals are classified as “dabblers” as opposed to “divers”.

Lifespan: Ringed teals can live up to 15 years in captivity, however, an average life span is not known for wild individuals.  

Scarlet Ibis (Eudocimus ruber)

Range: The scarlet ibis is a species of ibis in the bird family Threskiornithidae. It inhabits tropical South America and islands of the Caribbean. In form, it resembles most of the other twenty-seven extant species of ibis, but its remarkably brilliant scarlet coloration makes it unmistakable. The Scarlet Ibis is restricted to the northern third of South America where it occupies a number of aquatic habitats, ranging from mangrove swamps, tidal mudflats, shallow lakes, and anthropogenic wetlands where they feed mainly on crustaceans.

Description: The scarlet ibis is hard to miss! Adults are bright red or scarlet, with somewhat lighter shading on the head, neck and underparts. The longest flight feathers are tipped in black. The long legs of this wading bird are pink, and the toes are partially webbed. These birds have long legs, long bills, and moderately long necks. They are medium-sized wading birds, and usually stand about two and a half feet tall. In shape and size, they are quite similar to spoonbills. On average, the males' bills are 22% longer than the females.

Diet: In the wild, ibis eat a varied diet, including crabs and other crustaceans, small fish, mollusks, frogs, worms and insects. At an aquarium, the ibis's diet includes fish, crustaceans and insects, as well as a commercial pellet diet.

Lifespan: The life span of the scarlet ibis is approximately 16 years in the wild; and 20 years in captivity.