Black-headed Ibis

Black-headed Ibis
Black Headed Ibis, Thol, Gujarat, India
Conservation status
Near Threatened (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Chordata
Class:	Aves
Order:	Pelecaniformes
Family:	Threskiornithidae
Genus:	Threskiornis
Species:	T. melanocephalus
Binomial name
Threskiornis melanocephalus (Latham, 1790)

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 South Asia and Southeast Asia from Pakistan to India, 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.

References

• BirdLife International (2006). Threskiornis melanocephalus. 2006. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. IUCN 2006. www.iucnredlist.org. Retrieved on 11 May 2006. Database entry includes a brief justification of why this species is near threatened
• Grimmett, Inskipp and Inskipp; Birds of India. ISBN 0-691-04910-6

Gallery

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  at Panamaram Heronry, Wayanad, Kerala, India

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  at Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India.

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  in a nest in Karnataka, India.

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  at Bharatpur, Rajasthan, India.

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  juvenile troubling adult possibly for food in Uppalapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  juvenile extracting food from adult in Uppalapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  juvenile extracting food from adult in Uppalapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  in Uppalapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  in Uppalapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  in Uppalapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  in Uppalapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  collecting nesting material in Uppalapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  at nest in Uppalapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  in Kolleru Lake, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  in Kolleru Lake, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  with juveniles at Garapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  with eggs at Garapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  nesting at Garapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  nesting at Garapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  landing at Garapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India.

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  landing at Garapadu, Andhra Pradesh, India.