White ibis use their long, curved bills to probe into the burrows of the fiddler crabs and pull them out to eat. IBIS. Along with the clapper rail, white ibis are the major bird consumers of the salt marsh. They breed in large colonies on small islands in the salt marsh. Even though the adults eat fiddler crabs, the young are not able to eat the salty crabs. Instead, the adults fly inland to freshwater marshes, where they capture crayfish to feed the young. Once the young leave the nest, their bodies are able to handle the increase in salt, and they begin to feed on fiddler crabs and other animals in the salt marsh. The young birds are brown. Adults have pure white feathers, but with black on the wing tips. Their bills, faces, and legs are pink. They are the only common white bird with a down-curved bill.
