Spotted ibis

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Spotted ibis
Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Pelecaniformes
Family : Ibises and spoonbills (Threskiornithidae)
Genre : Bostrychia
Type : Spotted ibis
Scientific name
Bostrychia rara
( Rothschild , Hartert & Kleinschmidt , 1897)

The Fleckenibis ( Bostrychia rara ) is a species of bird in the family of ibises and spoonbills .

features

The spotted ibis is 46 to 50 centimeters tall, making it the smallest ibis of the genus Bostrychia . Characteristic is the ocher-brown speckling of the dark basal plumage on the chest and neck. The downward curved bill is dark red, there is a noticeable, bright spot on the eye. In the female, the spots are less pronounced, the beak is shorter and paler red. The young birds are similar to the female with feathers on the back of the head.

Occurrence

The spotted ibis has a relatively large distribution area in western and central Africa south of the Sahara, but is nowhere very common except in Gabon and Congo .

habitat

Forest areas in the lowlands, always near water, swamps with dense vegetation, river banks, especially near river mouths.

Food and subsistence

The food of the spotted ibis consists of insects and their larvae, worms, snails and their eggs, reptiles and amphibians. To acquire food, the birds poke in the soft ground or in the shallow water of swamps or river banks. As a rule, they travel alone or in pairs, mostly during the day; nocturnal activity was also observed in bright moonlight.

Reproduction

The loosely built and relatively small nests can be found on horizontal branches in trees at a height between 1 and 6 m. Typically, two eggs will hatch in 25 to 28 days. The young birds initially have a dark down coat, which is replaced by a thicker, white one after about six days.

literature

  • J. del Hoyo, A. Elliott, J. Sargatal (Eds.) (1992): Handbook of the Birds of the World . Vol. 1. Ostrich to Ducks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, ISBN 84-87334-10-5

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