Karen Zwolinski, age 12, of Sayreville, New Jersey, for her question:

Where does the ibis bird live?

This big beauteous wading bird has several cousins living in widely separated parts of the world. One is the sacred ibis who enjoyed a highly privileged life in the days of ancient Egypt. Like his relatives, he has long skinny legs, a long supple neck and a suprisingly long beak with a downward curve. The sacred ibis wears snowy white, accented with black tips on his tail feathers, plus a black head, neck and bill. He fishes for food along the muddy banks of the Nile. However, he allows plenty of time for primping and preening to keep his handsome plumage clean and glossy.

The scarlet ibis enjoys life by the rivers of tropical South America. This handsome bird wears bright red plumage, accented with black tips on his tail. The white ibis is a native of North America. In the past, he was common along the waterways as far north as the Carolinas. Nowadays he is rare in these parts, though still common along the Gulf Coast and in the swampy Everglades of Florida.