Diet and Foraging

The Bare-faced Ibis forages in moist soil and along the edges of standing water. Flocks often follow cattle and horses to capture invertebrate prey flushed by these animals (Frederick and Bildstein 1992).

The diet of the Bare-faced Ibis mainly consists of insects, worms, freshwater clams and other small invertebrates (Matheu and del Hoyo 1992). Prey are usually less than 1 cm long, mostly water beetles from the Belostomatidae, Naucoridae and Corixidae families and aquatic beetles from the Gyrinidae family (Frederick and Bildstein 1992). P. infuscatus also probes soft mud for crustaceans, insects and other small prey (Hilty and Brown 1986). Moojen et al. (1941) showed that two specimens of Phimosus infuscatus nudifrons had seeds and leaves of unidentified plants in their stomach (Moojen et al. 1941). We are unaware, however, of additional reports of plant-eating habits.
Usually feeds in small groups of 3-20 birds, less often singly or in pairs; walks slowly and probes in soft ground in grassy pastures, and in mud at wetlands and edges of shallow pools and lagoons (Matheu and del Hoyo 1992).