Green Ibis (Mesembrinibis cayennensis)

Green Ibis

[order] CICONIIFORMES | [family] Threskiornithidae | [latin] Mesembrinibis cayennensis | [authority] Gmelin, 1789 | [UK] Green Ibis | [FR] Ibis vert | [DE] Grunibis | [ES] Ibis Verde | [NL] Groene Ibis

Subspecies

Monotypic species

Genus

Threskiornis is a genus of , 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 2-4 eggs. They occur in marshy wetlands and feed on various fish, frogs, crustaceans and insects. Adult Threskiornis ibises are typically 75cm 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.

Physical charateristics

The Green Ibis is 48-56 cm long. The female is smaller than the male. Breeding adults have glossy greenish-black bodies, pale green legs and bill, and grey bare facial skin patches. Juveniles are much duller, but can be distinguished from the similar Glossy Ibis by their bulkier shape, shorter legs and broader wings. This species, like other ibises, flies with neck outstretched. Its flight is heavy, with fewer glides and jerkier wingbeats than its relatives.

Listen to the sound of Green Ibis

[audio:http://www.planetofbirds.com/MASTER/CICONIIFORMES/Threskiornithidae/sounds/Green Ibis.mp3]

Copyright remark: Most sounds derived from xeno-canto


wingspan min.: cm wingspan max.: cm
size min.: 48 cm size max.: 56 cm
incubation min.: 0 days incubation max.: 0 days
fledging min.: 23 days fledging max.: 0 days
broods: 1   eggs min.: 2  
      eggs max.: 4  

Range

South America : widespread

Habitat

Wet and muddy shallow banks of neotropic forest swamps and rivers. Also forages in open marshes and Wet savannas.

Reproduction

The green Ibis is a solitary breeder, the nest is built high up in a tree mostly above water. It is a loose structure made of twigs. Clutch size is 2-4 eggs, incubation period unknown. Young fledge after about 25 days.

Feeding habits

Green Ibises usually feed in a dispersed fashion on the periphery of mixed-species flocks, usually with other Green Ibises as their nearest neighbor. Green ibises use the moist edges of pools, ponds, and wetlands.
Green Ibises are a water’s_edge specialist, being almost always found in shallow water and nearly always within two meters of the shoreline. preffered food is insects, together with small numbers of anurans, crustaceans, gastropods, and oligochaetes.

Video Green Ibis

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8h7lXhu0bnI

copyright: D. Ascanio


Conservation

This species has a large range, with an estimated global extent of occurrence of 11,000,000 km2. It has a large global population estimated to be 50,000-100,000 individuals (Wetlands International 2002). Global population trends have not been quantified, but the species is not believed to approach the thresholds for the population decline criterion of the IUCN Red List (i.e., declining more than 30% in ten years or three generations). For these reasons, the species is evaluated as Least Concern.
Common species in Suriname usually in forests or forest edges in pairs or small flocks.
Green Ibis status Least Concern

Migration

Sedentary, although some movements occur, probably to better feeding grounds.

Distribution map

Green Ibis distribution range map

Literature

Title FORAGING ECOLOGY OF SEVEN SPECIES OF NEOTROPICAL IBISES (THRESKIORNITHIDAE) DURING THE DRY SEASON IN THE LLANOS OF VENEZUELA
Author(s): PETER C. FREDERICK’ AND KEITH L. BILDSTEIN
Abstract: sympatric species of ibises (Threskiomithidae) in ..[more]..
Source: Wilson Bull., 104(l), 1992, pp. 1-21

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