Status
The American White Ibis is classed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List. The population consists of 150,000 mature adults, and is stable, although some populations have unknown trends. A partial survey of under 50% of the North American population published in 2007 found an almost six-fold increase in the last four decades. The estimated breeding range is huge, at 1,200,000 km2 (460,000 mi2). Fluctuating breeding populations and high mobility of colonies make estimating the population difficult. Attempted censuses of breeding colonies across Texas, Louisiana, Florida, and the Carolinas yielded a count of 166,000 breeding birds in 2001, and 209,000 in 2004. The conservation status has been listed in two states—it is a Species of Special Concern in Florida, and a species of Moderate Conservation Concern in Alabama. The preservation of colony sites and freshwater foraging areas is important to maintaining populations; however, the highly mobile nature of breeding colonies makes this challenging.
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