Threskiornis aethiopicus

Taxonomy

Assessment Information

Geographic Range

Habitat and Ecology

Threats

Bibliography

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Taxonomy [top]

Kingdom	Phylum	Class	Order	Family
ANIMALIA	CHORDATA	AVES	CICONIIFORMES	THRESKIORNITHIDAE

Scientific Name:

Threskiornis aethiopicus

Species Authority:

(Latham, 1790)

Common Name/s:

English

–

African Sacred Ibis, Sacred Ibis

Assessment Information [top]

Red List Category & Criteria:

Least Concern ver 3.1

Year Published:

2009

Assessor/s:

BirdLife International

Reviewer/s:

Bird, J., Butchart, S.

Justification:
This species has an extremely large range, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the range size criterion (Extent of Occurrence <20,000 km2 combined with a declining or fluctuating range size, habitat extent/quality, or population size and a small number of locations or severe fragmentation). Despite the fact that the population trend appears to be decreasing, the decline is not believed to be sufficiently rapid to approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population trend criterion (>30% decline over ten years or three generations). The population size is very large, and hence does not approach the thresholds for Vulnerable under the population size criterion (<10,000 mature individuals with a continuing decline estimated to be >10% in ten years or three generations, or with a specified population structure). For these reasons the species is evaluated as Least Concern.

History:

2008	–	Least Concern
2004	–	Least Concern
2000	–	Not Recognized
1994	–	Not Recognized
1988	–	Not Recognized

Geographic Range [top]

Countries:	Native: Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Comoros; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Djibouti; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Kenya; Lesotho; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; Sudan; Swaziland; Tanzania, United Republic of; Togo; Uganda; Yemen; Zambia; Zimbabwe Introduced: Bahrain; France Vagrant: Azerbaijan; Kazakhstan; Kuwait; Oman; Saudi Arabia
Range Map:	Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Countries:

Native:

Angola; Benin; Botswana; Burkina Faso; Burundi; Cameroon; Central African Republic; Chad; Comoros; Congo; Congo, The Democratic Republic of the; Côte d'Ivoire; Djibouti; Equatorial Guinea; Eritrea; Ethiopia; Gabon; Gambia; Ghana; Guinea; Guinea-Bissau; Iran, Islamic Republic of; Iraq; Kenya; Lesotho; Malawi; Mali; Mauritania; Mozambique; Namibia; Niger; Nigeria; Rwanda; Senegal; Sierra Leone; Somalia; South Africa; Sudan; Swaziland; Tanzania, United Republic of; Togo; Uganda; Yemen; Zambia; Zimbabwe

Introduced:

Bahrain; France

Vagrant:

Azerbaijan; Kazakhstan; Kuwait; Oman; Saudi Arabia

Range Map:

Click here to open the map viewer and explore range.

Habitat and Ecology [top]

Habitat and Ecology:	Behaviour This species is an intra-African migrant, making nomadic or partially migratory movements of several hundred kilometres to breed during the rains^{1, 2}. Populations north of the equator migrate northwards and those south of the equator migrate southwards^{1, 2}, both groups returning towards the equator at the end of the breeding season². Some populations (e.g. in southern Africa) may also be sedentary³. The species starts to breed during or shortly after the rains, although in flooded areas it also breeds during the dry season, usually nesting in large mixed-species colonies of 50-2,000 pairs¹. It is a very gregarious species^2, foraging by day in groups of 2-20 birds, and occasionally in flocks of 100-300^{1, 2}, often flying more than 30 km away from the colony to feed^{2, 3}. The species also roosts nightly in large numbers at breeding sites, on islets in rivers or flood-lands, on trees near dams, or in villages². Habitat The species mainly inhabits the margins of inland freshwater wetlands, sewage works¹, saltpans⁷, farm dams³, rivers in open forest², grasslands, and cultivated fields, as well as coastal lagoons, intertidal areas, offshore islands¹ and mangroves⁵ (especially in the dry season)⁴. It may also occur in more human environments such as farmyards, abattoirs and refuse dumps on the outskirts of towns¹. Diet Its diet consists largely of insects including grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, and aquatic beetles, although it will also take crustaceans, worms, molluscs, fish, frogs, lizards, small mammals, the eggs of Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus and crocodiles, nestling Cape Cormorants Phalacrocorax capensis, carrion, offal and seeds^{1, 2, 4}. Breeding site The nest is a large platform of sticks and branches built in trees or bushes, or placed on the ground on rocky islands^{1, 2}.
Systems:	Terrestrial; Freshwater

Habitat and Ecology:

Behaviour This species is an intra-African migrant, making nomadic or partially migratory movements of several hundred kilometres to breed during the rains^{1, 2}. Populations north of the equator migrate northwards and those south of the equator migrate southwards^{1, 2}, both groups returning towards the equator at the end of the breeding season². Some populations (e.g. in southern Africa) may also be sedentary³. The species starts to breed during or shortly after the rains, although in flooded areas it also breeds during the dry season, usually nesting in large mixed-species colonies of 50-2,000 pairs¹. It is a very gregarious species^2, foraging by day in groups of 2-20 birds, and occasionally in flocks of 100-300^{1, 2}, often flying more than 30 km away from the colony to feed^{2, 3}. The species also roosts nightly in large numbers at breeding sites, on islets in rivers or flood-lands, on trees near dams, or in villages². Habitat The species mainly inhabits the margins of inland freshwater wetlands, sewage works¹, saltpans⁷, farm dams³, rivers in open forest², grasslands, and cultivated fields, as well as coastal lagoons, intertidal areas, offshore islands¹ and mangroves⁵ (especially in the dry season)⁴. It may also occur in more human environments such as farmyards, abattoirs and refuse dumps on the outskirts of towns¹. Diet Its diet consists largely of insects including grasshoppers, locusts, crickets, and aquatic beetles, although it will also take crustaceans, worms, molluscs, fish, frogs, lizards, small mammals, the eggs of Great White Pelican Pelecanus onocrotalus and crocodiles, nestling Cape Cormorants Phalacrocorax capensis, carrion, offal and seeds^{1, 2, 4}. Breeding site The nest is a large platform of sticks and branches built in trees or bushes, or placed on the ground on rocky islands^{1, 2}.

Systems:

Terrestrial; Freshwater

Threats [top]

Major Threat(s):	The population on Aldabra Island has declined due to hunting and disturbance by temporary workers¹. The species is also susceptible to avian botulism, so may be threatened by future outbreaks of the disease⁶. Utilisation The eggs and young of this species are collected by local people in Madagascar^{4, 5}.

Major Threat(s):

The population on Aldabra Island has declined due to hunting and disturbance by temporary workers¹. The species is also susceptible to avian botulism, so may be threatened by future outbreaks of the disease⁶. Utilisation The eggs and young of this species are collected by local people in Madagascar^{4, 5}.

Bibliography [top]

	Brown, L. H.; Urban, E. K.; Newman, K. 1982. The birds of Africa vol I. Academic Press, London. del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A.; Sargatal, J. 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain. Hancock, J. A.; Kushlan, J. A.; Kahl, M. P. 1992. Storks, ibises and spoonbills of the world. Academic Press, London. Hockey, P. A. R.; Dean, W. R. J.; Ryan, P. G. 2005. Roberts birds of southern Africa. Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town, South Africa. Langrand, O. 1990. Guide to the birds of Madagascar. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA. Martin, A. P.; Randall, R. M. 1987. Numbers of waterbirds at a commercial saltpan and suggestions for management. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 17(3): 75-81. van Heerden, J. 1974. Botulism in the Orange Free State goldfields. Ostrich 45(3): 182-184.

Brown, L. H.; Urban, E. K.; Newman, K. 1982. The birds of Africa vol I. Academic Press, London.

del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A.; Sargatal, J. 1992. Handbook of the Birds of the World, vol. 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, Spain.

Hancock, J. A.; Kushlan, J. A.; Kahl, M. P. 1992. Storks, ibises and spoonbills of the world. Academic Press, London.

Hockey, P. A. R.; Dean, W. R. J.; Ryan, P. G. 2005. Roberts birds of southern Africa. Trustees of the John Voelcker Bird Book Fund, Cape Town, South Africa.

Langrand, O. 1990. Guide to the birds of Madagascar. Yale University Press, New Haven, USA.

Martin, A. P.; Randall, R. M. 1987. Numbers of waterbirds at a commercial saltpan and suggestions for management. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 17(3): 75-81.

van Heerden, J. 1974. Botulism in the Orange Free State goldfields. Ostrich 45(3): 182-184.

Citation:	BirdLife International 2009. Threskiornis aethiopicus. In: IUCN 2011. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2011.2. <www.iucnredlist.org>. Downloaded on 22 May 2012.
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