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You might see them gathering along the shoreline at the beach or on your lawn after a hard rain: white birds with spindly, rose-colored legs that poke around for food with long, curved beaks.

They’re called white ibises, and they’re one of the most common wading birds in Southwest Florida, says Jerry Jackson, an ornithologist and professor at Florida Gulf Coast University.

And if you think the ibises have been visiting more frequently and in larger bunches recently, you’re right.

Why? Empty nests and rainy days. During nesting season the adults are tied to their nests, but when the young ones leave, the adults are free, too, Jackson says. The summer rains also lure them into new areas, creating little pools and soaking grassy areas.

“These are birds that feed mostly in wetlands and we have lots of pools of water,” he says. “Those provide breeding places for little frogs and crayfish and all sorts of things they love to eat. When it rains the insects in soil and the worms in the soil come closer to the surface.”

Mowing the grass makes for easier access as well, creating a great habitat for them.

Where do the ibis disappear to when they’re nesting? In March and into April, the ibises nest mostly in remote areas, but the birds aren’t reclusive. They are colonial nesters, which means that ibis pairs pause to lay their eggs along with several hundred other species of birds, including herons and egrets. Each pair raises about two or three young, nesting low in trees near the salt or fresh water and sometimes, on the ground in marshy areas. Every once in awhile, you’ll find a nest in an urban area, too.

Is that why we don’t see little white ibises poking around — because they’re hiding in the swamp? Nope. Young ibises aren’t white like the adults, so you might have seen one and not even realized it. They are brown and greyish, with a dingy orange bill. As they get older, they become a mottled brown and white, Jackson says. It takes about two years for their feathers to come in pure white. The young birds usually split from the older ones, so you’ll see flocks of juveniles together or flocks of adults.

Where else can you see ibises? Their territory ranges from North Carolina south to Florida, along the Gulf Coast and even to the Caribbean and South America. In the winter, they also move a little farther inland.

Why do some people call them chickens? Ibises used to be on the menu in many Southwest Florida homes, and so they earned the nickname the “Chokoloskee chicken,” Jackson says. In the 1700s and 1800s, they were among many birds commonly sold in markets. People were eating them, in this areas, well into the 20th century.

“I’ve eaten them. They taste not very much like chicken, a little bit like mud. But it’s a pretty good meat.”

“I haven’t hunted them,” he explains. “It was roadkill that I picked up when I was working for (a museum in Texas).”

But don’t try to catch an ibis to fry up for dinner, he adds. It’s illegal.

Are they related to chickens? They might bob their heads a bit like a mother hen while hunting, but ibises aren’t at all related to chickens, Jackson says. Their relations include storks and roseate spoonbills.

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For information on the white ibis and other local birds, go to http://www.birds.cornell.edu/AllAboutBirds/BirdGuide/White_Ibis.html