Threskiornis melanocephalus — Details

Black-headed Ibis learn more about names for this taxon

Overview

Distribution

Range Description

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Threskiornis melanocephalus occurs in Japan (scarce non-breeding visitor), mainland China (probably breeds in Heilongjiang, but this is not confirmed; non-breeding visitors are rare along the east and south coasts, occasionally inland to Sichuan and Yunnan), Hong Kong (China) (regular winter visitor in small numbers with occasional summer records), Pakistan (scarce resident, principally in the Indus delta region), Nepal (frequent resident and summer visitor to the south-east), India (widespread and locally common in the west, scarce in the east; possibly increasing locally due to spread of man-made wetlands), Sri Lanka (common resident in the lowlands, particularly the dry zone), Bangladesh (local visitor to coastal regions and the north-east), Philippines (rare non-breeding visitor to the south), Myanmar (uncommon but widespread non-breeding visitor, 730 counted in 1991), Thailand (formerly common resident, now uncommon winter visitor), Laos (only one record, a single bird prior to 1950), Vietnam (previously abundant breeder, now a few large colonies remaining and still locally common, Cambodia (fairly common resident in early 1960s; now scarce and local with small numbers breeding around Tonle Sap), Peninsular Malaysia (formerly occurred and probably bred in the west, but few recent records), Indonesia (scarce non-breeding visitor to Sumatra and north Borneo, possibly breeding in Sumatra with c.2,000 birds estimated, numerous breeding colonies in Java early in twentieth century, but now local and declining. While the East Asian population is extremely small (<100)2, those in South-East Asia and South Asia probably number fewer than 10,000 individuals each1.
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Ecology

Habitat

Habitat and Ecology

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Habitat and Ecology
It inhabits freshwater marshes, lakes, rivers, flooded grasslands, paddy fields, tidal creeks, mudflats, saltmarshes and coastal lagoons, usually in extreme lowlands, but occasionally up to 950 m, tending to be nomadic in response to water levels and feeding conditions.

Systems
  • Terrestrial
  • Freshwater
  • Marine
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Life History and Behavior

Life Expectancy

Lifespan, longevity, and ageing

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Maximum longevity: 28.2 years (captivity) Observations: One specimen lived for 28.2 years in captivity (Brouwer et al. 1994).
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Conservation

Conservation Status

IUCN Red List Assessment

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Red List Category
NT
Near Threatened

Red List Criteria

Version
3.1

Year Assessed
2008

Assessor/s
BirdLife International

Reviewer/s
Mahood, S., Butchart, S.

Contributor/s
Wang, Q.

Justification
In common with most large wetland species in Asia, this species is undergoing a population reduction. It faces the full gambit of threats, from hunting and disturbance at breeding colonies to drainage and conversion of foraging habitats to agriculture. It consequently qualifies as Near Threatened.

History
  • 2006
    Near Threatened
  • 2004
    Near Threatened
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Population

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Population
<10,000 in S Asia; plus <10,000 in SE Asia (Byers et al. 1995); plus <100 in E Asia (Q. Wang in litt. 2002 to Wetlands International 2002).

Population Trend
Decreasing
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Threats

Threats

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Major Threats
It is vulnerable to drainage, disturbance, pollution, agricultural conversion, hunting and collection of eggs and nestlings from colonies. A combination of these factors has probably caused the decline.
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Management

Conservation Actions

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Conservation Actions
Conservation Actions Underway
None is known.

Conservation Actions Proposed
Regularly monitor the population at selected sites across its range, particularly at important colonies. Asses the effects of the various threats on population levels. Conduct local education programmes to discourage hunting and disturbance, and to encourage the protection of nesting areas.

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Wikipedia

Black-headed Ibis

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juvenile asking for food from adult in Uppalapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India

The Black-headed Ibis or Oriental White Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus) is a species of wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae which breeds in the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia from northern India, Bangladesh, Nepal and Sri Lanka east up to Japan. It builds a stick nest in a tree and lays 2–4 eggs.

It occurs in marshy wetlands inland and on the coast, where it feeds on various fish, frogs and other water creatures, as well as on insects. It walks about actively on marshy land probing with its bill into soft mud and often feeds in shallow water with its head momentarily submerged. Like storks and Spoonbills, it lacks a true voice-producing mechanism and is silent except for peculiar ventriloquial grunts uttered when nesting.

Adults are typically 75 cm long and white-plumaged, with some greyer areas on the wings. The bald head, the neck and legs are black. The thick down curved bill is dusky yellow.In breeding,plumage some slaty grey on scapulars and in wings and ornamental plumes at base of the neck. Sexes are similar, but juveniles have whiter necks and a black bill.

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References

Traditional listing of Ibises and spoonbills (family: Threskiornithidae)
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