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Ibises
The ibises () (collective plural ibis; classical plurals ibides and ibes) are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, that inhabit wetlands, forests and plains. "Ibis" derives from the Latin and Ancient Greek word for this group of birds. It also occurs in the scientific name of the cattle egret (''Bubulcus ibis'') mistakenly identified in 1757 as being the sacred ibis. Description Ibises all have long, downcurved bills, and usually feed as a group, probing mud for food items, usually crustaceans. They are monogamous and highly territorial while nesting and feeding. Most nest in trees, often with spoonbills or herons. All extant species are capable of flight, but two extinct genera were flightless, namely the kiwi-like ''Apteribis'' in the Hawaiian Islands, and the peculiar '' Xenicibis'' in Jamaica. The word ''ibis'' comes from Latin ''ibis'' from Greek ἶβις ''ibis'' from Egyptian ''hb'', ''hīb''. Beekes, R. S. P. (2009) ''Etymological Diction ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Sacred Ibis
The African sacred ibis (''Threskiornis aethiopicus'') is a species of ibis, a wading bird of the family Threskiornithidae. It is native to much of Africa, as well as small parts of Iraq, Iran and Kuwait. It is especially known for its role in the religion of the Ancient Egyptians, where it was linked to the god Thoth. The species is currently extirpated from Egypt. Taxonomy It is very closely related to the black-headed ibis and the Australian white ibis, with which it forms a superspecies complex, so much so that the three species are considered conspecific by some ornithologists. In mixed flocks these ibises often hybridise. The Australian white ibis is often called the sacred ibis colloquially. Although known to the ancient civilisations of Greece, Rome and especially Africa, ibises were unfamiliar to western Europeans from the fall of Rome until the 19th century, and mentions of this bird in the ancient works of these civilisations were supposed to describe some type ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Threskiornithidae
The family Threskiornithidae includes 36 species of large wading birds. The family has been traditionally classified into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills; however recent genetic studies have cast doubt on this arrangement, and have found the spoonbills to be nested within the Old World ibises, and the New World ibises as an early offshoot. Taxonomy The family Threskiornithidae was formerly known as Plataleidae. The spoonbills and ibises were once thought to be related to other groups of long-legged wading birds in the order Ciconiiformes. A recent study found that they are members of the order Pelecaniformes. In response to these findings, the International Ornithological Congress (IOC) recently reclassified Threskiornithidae and their sister taxa Ardeidae under the order Pelecaniformes instead of the previous order of Ciconiiformes. Whether the two subfamilies are reciprocally monophyletic is an open question. The South American Checklist Committee's entry for th ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cercibis
The sharp-tailed ibis (''Cercibis oxycerca'') is a species of ibis native to open wet savannas in parts of northern South America. Taxonomy and systematics The sharp-tailed ibis is monotypic, being the only representative of the genus ''Cercibis''.Blake ER. 1977. ''Manual of Neotropical Birds'', vol I. University of Chicago Press, Chicago. Much remains unknown about this ibis's evolutionary history;Hancock JA, Kushlan JA, Kahl MP. 1992. ''Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World''. Academic Press. however, phylogenetic analyses based on skull morphology and function suggest that it is closely related to the spoonbills. Description This large ibis measures 75–86 cm in length, with males being slightly larger than females. In adult males, the flat wing measures 390–415mm lengthways, and the culmen measures 156–168mm from the base of the bill. In adult females, the wing is 376–413mm long and the culmen 144–197mm. The species is distinguished by its notably long ta ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Spoonbill
Spoonbills are a genus, ''Platalea'', of large, long-legged wading birds. The spoonbills have a global distribution, being found on every continent except Antarctica. The genus name ''Platalea'' derives from Ancient Greek and means "broad", referring to the distinctive shape of the bill. Six species are recognised, which although usually placed in a single genus have sometimes been split into three genera. All spoonbills have large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading through shallow water, sweeping the partly opened bill from side to side. The moment any small aquatic creature touches the inside of the bill—an insect, crustacean, or tiny fish—it is snapped shut. Spoonbills generally prefer fresh water to salt but are found in both environments. They need to feed many hours each day. Taxonomy The genus ''Platalea'' was introduced in 1758 by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae''. The genus name is Latin for ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Nipponia
The crested ibis (''Nipponia nippon''), also known as the Japanese crested ibis, Asian crested ibis or toki, is a large (up to long), white-plumaged ibis of pine forests, native to eastern Asia. Its head is partially bare, showing red skin, and it has a dense crest of white plumes on the nape. It is the only member of the genus ''Nipponia''. Breeding They make their nests at the tops of trees on hills usually overlooking their habitat. Diet Crested ibises usually eat insects, frogs, small fish, and small animals. Distribution At one time, the crested ibis nested in the Russian Far East, Japan, and Mainland China, and was a non-breeding visitor to the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan. It has now disappeared from most of its former range, and the only natural (non-reintroduced) population occurs in Shaanxi, China. Conservation The last wild crested ibis in Japan died in October 2003, with the remaining wild population found only in Shaanxi Province of China, until the reintroducti ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Eudocimus
''Eudocimus'' is a genus of ibises, wading birds of the family Threskiornithidae. They occur in the warmer parts of the New World with representatives from the southern United States south through Central America, the West Indies, and South America. Taxonomy and Systematics The genus ''Eudocimus'' appears to be most closely related to (but more primitive than) ''Plegadis'', the latter distinguished anatomically by the conformation of the tarsometatarsus. The fossil record is poor, but the Early Miocene fossil species ''Plegadis paganus'' has some intermediate features. It has two Foramen, foramina in the intertrochlear groove of its distal tarsometatarsus, as do ''Plegadis'' in contrast to the single foramen of ''Eudocimus'' and many other bird species. The derived nature of this species indicates ibises belonging to ''Eudocimus'' were already in existence at this time. A 2010 study of mitochondrial DNA of the spoonbills by Chesser and colleagues, which included ''E. ruber'', '' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Geronticus
__NOTOC__ The small bird genus ''Geronticus'' belongs to the ibis subfamily (Threskiornithinae). Its name is derived from the Greek ''gérontos'' (γέρωντος, "old man") in reference to the bald head of these dark-plumaged birds; in English they are called bald ibises. The genus was erected by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832. The type species was subsequently designated as the southern bald ibis (''Geronticus calvus''). Species Like most ibises, they are gregarious long-legged wading birds with long down-curved bills; they form one subfamily of the Threskiornithidae, the other subfamily being the spoonbills. The two ''Geronticus'' species differ from other ibises in that they have unfeathered faces and heads, breed on cliffs rather than in trees, and prefer arid habitats to the wetlands used by their relatives. Their food contains fewer aquatic animals and more terrestrial ones; they are known to gather together and feed on locust swarms, killing many ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Apteribis
''Apteribis'' is an extinct genus of flightless birds in the ibis subfamily that was endemic to the Hawaiian Islands in the Pacific Ocean. Distribution The remains of the small ibises in the genus have only been found on the islands of Maui, Lanai, and Molokai, which formed part of the prehistoric island of Maui Nui until about 200,000 years ago when rising sea levels fragmented it. Olson and James speculate that the genus was endemic to Maui Nui, that the ibises were birds of the forest floor, that because of their flightlessness they were susceptible to becoming trapped in lava tubes, and that they may have exerted heavy predation pressure on Maui Nui's land snails. Taxonomy Analysis of the feathers from the Lanai specimen show an affinity to New World ibises of the genus ''Eudocimus''. The analyses also concluded that ''Apteribis'' may have had a brown-and-beige coloration similar to that of a juvenile ''Eudocimus'' ibis. This indicates that ''Apteribis'' may have evolved bo ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Mesembrinibis
The green ibis (''Mesembrinibis cayennensis''), also known as the Cayenne ibis, is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae. It is the only member of the genus ''Mesembrinibis''. This is a resident breeder from Honduras through Nicaragua, Costa Rica and western Panama, and South America to northern Argentina. It undertakes some local seasonal movements in the dry season. Taxonomy The green ibis was formally described in 1789 by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin in his revised and expanded edition of Carl Linnaeus's ''Systema Naturae''. He placed it in the genus ''Tantalus'' and coined the binomial name ''Tantalus cayennensis''. Gmelin based his description on the "Cayenne ibis" that had been described in 1785 by the English ornithologist John Latham in his book ''A General Synopsis of Birds ''. Latham had based his own description on the "Le Courlis des Bois " and the "Courly vert, de Cayenne" that the French polymath, the Comte de Buffon had included ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Threskiornis
''Threskiornis'' is a genus of ibises, wading birds of the family Threskiornithidae. They occur in the warmer parts of the Old World in southern Asia, Australasia and Sub-Saharan Africa. They are colonial breeders, which build a stick nest in a tree or bush and lay two to four eggs. They occur in marshy wetlands and feed on various fish, frogs, crustaceans and insects, in English, they are called sacred ibises. Description Adult ''Threskiornis'' ibises are typically 75 cm long and have white body plumage. The bald head, neck and legs are black. The bill is thick and curved. Sexes are similar, but juveniles have whiter necks duller plumage. The straw-necked ibis differs from the other species in having dark upperparts, and is some times placed in the separate genus ''Carphibis'' ( Jameson, 1835) as ''Carphibis spinicollis''. A flightless species, the Reunion ibis Reunion may refer to: * Class reunion * Family reunion Reunion, Réunion, Re-union, Reunions or The Reunio ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Thaumatibis
The giant ibis (''Thaumatibis gigantea''), the only species in the monotypic genus ''Thaumatibis'', is a wading bird of the ibis family, Threskiornithidae. It is confined to northern Cambodia, with a few birds surviving in extreme southern Laos and a recent sighting in Yok Đôn National Park, Vietnam. Habitat and range The giant ibis is a lowland bird that occurs in marshes, swamps, lakes, wide rivers, flooded plains and semi-open forests as well as pools, ponds and seasonal water-meadows in denser deciduous forest. It generally is found in lowlands. One bird was collected in a Malay paddyfield. Formerly the giant ibis was believed to breed in eastern Thailand, central and northern Cambodia, southern Laos and southern Vietnam. It was still fairly common in the Mekong Delta until the 1920s but is now almost depleted, with a small remnant population breeding in Cambodia, southern Laos and possibly in Vietnam. Description True to its name, it is the largest extant ibis species. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cattle Egret
The cattle egret (''Bubulcus ibis'') is a cosmopolitan species of heron (family Ardeidae) found in the tropics, subtropics, and warm-temperate zones. It is the only member of the monotypic genus ''Bubulcus'', although some authorities regard its two subspecies as full species, the western cattle egret and the eastern cattle egret. Despite the similarities in plumage to the egrets of the genus ''Egretta'', it is more closely related to the herons of '' Ardea''. Originally native to parts of Asia, Africa, and Europe, it has undergone a rapid expansion in its distribution and successfully colonised much of the rest of the world in the last century. It is a white bird adorned with buff plumes in the breeding season. It nests in colonies, usually near bodies of water and often with other wading birds. The nest is a platform of sticks in trees or shrubs. Cattle egrets exploit drier and open habitats more than other heron species. Their feeding habitats include seasonally inundated gr ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
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