Giant Ibis
Encyclopedia
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 record from Yok Don National Park
, Vietnam
.
es, pools, wide rivers and seasonal water-meadows in deciduous, lowland forest
. It eats invertebrates, crustacean
s, small amphibian
s and reptile
s. Nothing is known of its breeding behaviour, but it probably nests in tree
s.
This bird is considered to be critically endangered due to hunting, disturbance and lowland deforestation
. The current population is estimated at 100 pairs.
Monotypic
In biology, a monotypic taxon is a taxonomic group with only one biological type. The term's usage differs slightly between botany and zoology. The term monotypic has a separate use in conservation biology, monotypic habitat, regarding species habitat conversion eliminating biodiversity and...
genus
Genus
In biology, a genus is a low-level taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms, which is an example of definition by genus and differentia...
Thaumatibis, is a wading bird
Bird
Birds are feathered, winged, bipedal, endothermic , egg-laying, vertebrate animals. Around 10,000 living species and 188 families makes them the most speciose class of tetrapod vertebrates. They inhabit ecosystems across the globe, from the Arctic to the Antarctic. Extant birds range in size from...
of the ibis
Ibis
The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae....
family, Threskiornithidae. It is confined to northern Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, with a few birds surviving in extreme southern Laos
Laos
Laos Lao: ສາທາລະນະລັດ ປະຊາທິປະໄຕ ປະຊາຊົນລາວ Sathalanalat Paxathipatai Paxaxon Lao, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic, is a landlocked country in Southeast Asia, bordered by Burma and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the south and Thailand to the west...
and a recent record from Yok Don National Park
Yok Don National Park
Yok Don National Park is a national park located in Buôn Đôn District, Dak Lak Province, Tây Nguyên of Vietnam, 40 km west of Buôn Ma Thuột city. The park was established in 1991 to protect 582 km² of a biological area of khộp lowland forest. The total area is 1,155.45 km²...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
.
Habitat
It occurs in marshMarsh
In geography, a marsh, or morass, is a type of wetland that is subject to frequent or continuous flood. Typically the water is shallow and features grasses, rushes, reeds, typhas, sedges, other herbaceous plants, and moss....
es, pools, wide rivers and seasonal water-meadows in deciduous, lowland forest
Forest
A forest, also referred to as a wood or the woods, is an area with a high density of trees. As with cities, depending where you are in the world, what is considered a forest may vary significantly in size and have various classification according to how and what of the forest is composed...
. It eats invertebrates, crustacean
Crustacean
Crustaceans form a very large group of arthropods, usually treated as a subphylum, which includes such familiar animals as crabs, lobsters, crayfish, shrimp, krill and barnacles. The 50,000 described species range in size from Stygotantulus stocki at , to the Japanese spider crab with a leg span...
s, small amphibian
Amphibian
Amphibians , are a class of vertebrate animals including animals such as toads, frogs, caecilians, and salamanders. They are characterized as non-amniote ectothermic tetrapods...
s and reptile
Reptile
Reptiles are members of a class of air-breathing, ectothermic vertebrates which are characterized by laying shelled eggs , and having skin covered in scales and/or scutes. They are tetrapods, either having four limbs or being descended from four-limbed ancestors...
s. Nothing is known of its breeding behaviour, but it probably nests in tree
Tree
A tree is a perennial woody plant. It is most often defined as a woody plant that has many secondary branches supported clear of the ground on a single main stem or trunk with clear apical dominance. A minimum height specification at maturity is cited by some authors, varying from 3 m to...
s.
Description
This is, by far, the largest of the world's ibises. Adults are reportedly 102–106 cm (40–42 in) long and are estimated to weigh about 4.2 kg (9.3 lbs). The adults have dark plumage with a naked, greyish head and upper neck.This bird is considered to be critically endangered due to hunting, disturbance and lowland deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation is the removal of a forest or stand of trees where the land is thereafter converted to a nonforest use. Examples of deforestation include conversion of forestland to farms, ranches, or urban use....
. The current population is estimated at 100 pairs.