African sacred ibis

This bird has a white body.

It has a black head and neck. Its beak is long and curved. The bird is very large when it flies.

Many of these birds live in Africa. They also live in parts of Asia. Some birds fly a long way to find rain. This helps them find food.

Long ago, people in Egypt loved this bird. They thought it was special. They even made mummies of them.

Today, these birds live in many new places. Some live in Europe. They can even live in Florida.

It is a very interesting bird to watch.

The African sacred ibis is a large wading bird.

It has a white body and dark plumes on its rump. Its head, neck, and long, curved bill are black. The eyes are brown with a red ring around them.

This bird lives in much of Africa and parts of Asia. Some groups are migrants. They fly to follow the rains. In South Africa, birds may fly 1,500 km north to Zambia. In Iraq, they often fly to Iran.

In ancient Egypt, this bird was very important. People linked it to the god Thoth. They even made mummies of the birds.

The birds are no longer found in Egypt today.

Some ibises now live in new places. They were brought to Europe in the 1700s. Some escaped or lived in zoo colonies. Now, they live in places like France and Italy. In the European Union, they are called an invasive species. This means they are not native to those areas.

The African sacred ibis is a large wading bird with a striking look.

Most adults have a bright white body and dark plumes on their rump. Their heads, necks, and thick, curved bills are all black. You can also see a dark red ring around their brown eyes. While they are usually quiet, they sometimes make yelping noises like a puppy. These birds belong to a family of birds called Threskiornithidae. They are very closely related to the Australian white ibis and the black-headed ibis.

These birds move around quite a bit to find food and water. Many populations are migrants, which means they travel to follow the rains.

In South Africa, some birds fly 1,500 km north to reach Zambia. The Iraqi birds often fly to Iran, though some have wandered as far as Russia. In Africa, birds north of the equator fly in the opposite direction. This movement helps them stay in places where food is easy to find. They often live near water, such as the Sudd swamps in Sudan.

This bird has a very long history with humans. In Ancient Egypt, people saw the ibis as a sacred animal. They linked the bird to a god named Thoth.

For many centuries, people even made mummies of the birds as offerings. Some people thought there were special farms to raise them for this purpose. However, the birds disappeared from Egypt by the year 1850. They are no longer found breeding in Egypt today.

Scientists have spent a long time naming and studying this bird. In 1758, a scientist named Linnaeus first described it. Later, in 1790, John Latham gave it a modern scientific description. In 1842, George Robert Gray moved the bird into its own genus, Threskiornis.

Other experts, like Holyoak in 1970, studied how their feathers look. Some researchers even look at their courtship displays to see how they act. These studies help us understand how different types of ibises are related.

Today, the sacred ibis can be found in many new places. Some birds live in Europe because they escaped from zoos or were released.

In France, large groups of birds live along the Atlantic coast. Because they are not native to Europe, the European Union calls them an invasive species. This means they are living in a place where they do not belong. In some areas, like the Mediterranean coast of France, people have even tried to reduce their numbers. This shows how much humans can change where animals live.

The African sacred ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) is a large wading bird.

It belongs to the family Threskiornithidae. This species is native to much of Africa and small parts of the Middle East. It is found in Iraq, Iran, and Kuwait. The bird is famous for its historical connection to Ancient Egyptian religion. In that culture, the ibis was linked to the god Thoth. While once common in Egypt, the species is now extirpated, meaning it no longer lives there in the wild.

An adult ibis has a very distinct appearance. The body is covered in white plumage. Dark plumes appear on the rump, which is the area at the base of the tail. The head, neck, and long, curved bill are black. When the bird flies, its white wings show a black rear border. The eyes are brown and surrounded by a dark red orbital ring.

Males are generally slightly larger than females. Juveniles look different from adults. They have dirty white plumage and some feathering on their necks. They also have greenish-brown scapulars, which are the feathers covering the shoulder.

These birds follow specific patterns to survive. Many populations are migratory, traveling to follow the seasonal rains. In South Africa, some birds migrate 1,500 km north to reach Zambia. In contrast, African birds north of the equator migrate in the opposite direction.

The Iraqi population usually migrates to southwestern Iran. However, some wandering birds have been seen as far north as the Caspian coasts of Russia. This movement ensures they are always near suitable habitats and food sources.

The scientific classification of the ibis has changed many times. In 1758, Linnaeus first described the bird. He initially thought ancient authors were describing a cattle egret. In 1790, John Latham provided the first modern scientific description. Later, in 1842, George Robert Gray moved the bird into the genus Threskiornis.

This happened because the previous genus, Tantalus, was designated for the wood stork. In 1970, Holyoak suggested that the African, Australian, and Indian ibises were all one species. However, later studies in the 1970s and 1990s by researchers like Roselaar, Sibley, and Monroe led to the recognition of separate species.

History shows a deep bond between humans and this bird. In Ancient Egypt, the ibis was venerated and often mummified.

These mummies were used as votive offerings to the god Thoth. For many centuries, temples buried tens of thousands of birds every year. Some believed that special breeding farms, called ibiotropheia, existed to meet this demand. By 1850, the species had disappeared from Egypt. Interestingly, the birds have recently expanded in southern Africa. They benefited from human changes like irrigation, dams, and even dung heaps. In the Orange Free State, the population grew two to three times larger between 1972 and 1995.

In some parts of the world, the ibis is now an introduced species. In the 1970s, many European zoos kept free-flying colonies. Some of these birds escaped or were released, creating feral populations.

These birds are now found in Italy, France, Spain, and even Taiwan. In the European Union, the African sacred ibis is listed as an Invasive Alien Species of Union concern. This means it is illegal to import, breed, or intentionally release them in the EU. In France, large populations established themselves along the Atlantic coast. In some areas, like the Mediterranean coast, officials have had to start cull programs to reduce their numbers.

The ibis's presence in different regions shows how ecosystems connect. In Yemen, small numbers remain, with an estimate of about 30 mature individuals in 2015. In Iraq, the birds faced danger when the Mesopotamian Marshes were drained in the late 1980s. Despite this, a small colony of up to 27 adults was observed in the Hawizeh Marshes in 2008. These birds demonstrate how both human activity and natural changes can shift where a species lives and thrives.