Straw-necked Ibis
Encyclopedia
The Straw-necked Ibis is a bird of the ibis and spoonbill family
Threskiornithidae
. It can be found throughout Australia
, New Guinea
, and parts of Indonesia
. Adults have distinctive straw-like feathers on their neck.
Sexes are similar, although males have longer bills and females have a dark band across their upper breast. Juveniles have duller colours and shorter bills with less curvature, and lack the straw-like plumes on the neck.
, South Australia
, and south-west Tasmania
. They are most abundant on the east coast, and also inhabit Norfolk Island
and Lord Howe Island
. They are also found in Indonesia
and New Guinea
. Found around shallow freshwater wetland
s, cultivated pastures, edges of swamps and lagoons, and wet or dry grasslands. They tend to avoid arid and saltwater areas, and coastal mudflats. They are extremely nomadic, and are constantly on the move searching for suitable habitats. They are frequently seen standing on high branches of bare trees, silhouetted against the sky.
es now survive on. In shallow waters, straw-necked ibises feed on aquatic insect
s, molluscs, frog
s, and food sifted from the surface of the water body. On land, they thrive on grasshopper
s, crickets
, and locust
s, and are often called the Farmer's Friend because they feed on pests that would otherwise eat farm crops. They also eat small lizard
s, skink
s, and other small reptile
s.
Family (biology)
In biological classification, family is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, class, order, genus, and species, with family fitting between order and genus. As for the other well-known ranks, there is the option of an immediately lower rank, indicated by the...
Threskiornithidae
Threskiornithidae
The family Threskiornithidae includes 34 species of large terrestrial and wading birds, falling into two subfamilies, the ibises and the spoonbills. It 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...
. It can be found throughout Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
, and parts of Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. Adults have distinctive straw-like feathers on their neck.
Description
Straw-necked Ibises are large birds, around 60–75 cm (24–30 in) long. They have dark wings that show an iridescent, multicoloured sheen in sunlight, and have a dark back and collar. Most of the neck is white, as are the underparts and undertail. They have a long, black, downcurved bill, and their legs are usually red near the top and dark grey toward the feet. Straw-like feathers on the neck of adults give the bird its common name.Sexes are similar, although males have longer bills and females have a dark band across their upper breast. Juveniles have duller colours and shorter bills with less curvature, and lack the straw-like plumes on the neck.
Distribution and habitat
Straw-necked Ibises are found throughout Australia, except parts of Western AustraliaWestern Australia
Western Australia is a state of Australia, occupying the entire western third of the Australian continent. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Great Australian Bight and Indian Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east and South Australia to the south-east...
, South Australia
South Australia
South Australia is a state of Australia in the southern central part of the country. It covers some of the most arid parts of the continent; with a total land area of , it is the fourth largest of Australia's six states and two territories.South Australia shares borders with all of the mainland...
, and south-west Tasmania
Tasmania
Tasmania is an Australian island and state. It is south of the continent, separated by Bass Strait. The state includes the island of Tasmania—the 26th largest island in the world—and the surrounding islands. The state has a population of 507,626 , of whom almost half reside in the greater Hobart...
. They are most abundant on the east coast, and also inhabit Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island
Norfolk Island is a small island in the Pacific Ocean located between Australia, New Zealand and New Caledonia. The island is part of the Commonwealth of Australia, but it enjoys a large degree of self-governance...
and Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, and about from Norfolk Island. The island is about 11 km long and between 2.8 km and 0.6 km wide with an area of...
. They are also found in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
and New Guinea
New Guinea
New Guinea is the world's second largest island, after Greenland, covering a land area of 786,000 km2. Located in the southwest Pacific Ocean, it lies geographically to the east of the Malay Archipelago, with which it is sometimes included as part of a greater Indo-Australian Archipelago...
. Found around shallow freshwater wetland
Wetland
A wetland is an area of land whose soil is saturated with water either permanently or seasonally. Wetlands are categorised by their characteristic vegetation, which is adapted to these unique soil conditions....
s, cultivated pastures, edges of swamps and lagoons, and wet or dry grasslands. They tend to avoid arid and saltwater areas, and coastal mudflats. They are extremely nomadic, and are constantly on the move searching for suitable habitats. They are frequently seen standing on high branches of bare trees, silhouetted against the sky.
Feeding
Straw-necked Ibises have not adapted to the wide variety of food that Australian White IbisAustralian White Ibis
The Australian White Ibis , is a wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae. It is widespread across much of Australia...
es now survive on. In shallow waters, straw-necked ibises feed on aquatic insect
Insect
Insects are a class of living creatures within the arthropods that have a chitinous exoskeleton, a three-part body , three pairs of jointed legs, compound eyes, and two antennae...
s, molluscs, frog
Frog
Frogs are amphibians in the order Anura , formerly referred to as Salientia . Most frogs are characterized by a short body, webbed digits , protruding eyes and the absence of a tail...
s, and food sifted from the surface of the water body. On land, they thrive on grasshopper
Grasshopper
The grasshopper is an insect of the suborder Caelifera in the order Orthoptera. To distinguish it from bush crickets or katydids, it is sometimes referred to as the short-horned grasshopper...
s, crickets
Cricket (insect)
Crickets, family Gryllidae , are insects somewhat related to grasshoppers, and more closely related to katydids or bush crickets . They have somewhat flattened bodies and long antennae. There are about 900 species of crickets...
, and locust
Locust
Locusts are the swarming phase of short-horned grasshoppers of the family Acrididae. These are species that can breed rapidly under suitable conditions and subsequently become gregarious and migratory...
s, and are often called the Farmer's Friend because they feed on pests that would otherwise eat farm crops. They also eat small lizard
Lizard
Lizards are a widespread group of squamate reptiles, with nearly 3800 species, ranging across all continents except Antarctica as well as most oceanic island chains...
s, skink
Skink
Skinks are lizards belonging to the family Scincidae. Together with several other lizard families, including Lacertidae , they comprise the superfamily or infraorder Scincomorpha...
s, and other small 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.
Breeding
They build a large, rough, cup-shaped nest of sticks and trampled plants among reeds, paperbarks, bulrushes, or trees over water. They build in colonies, often with the Australian White Ibis. Breeding season may be around March in the north, and July–December in the south, but can occur throughout the year after heavy rain in some areas. Nests are used year after year.External links
- BirdLife Species Factsheet
- Wonga wetlands
- IUCN Red List
- The Internet Bird Collection. Media files on Straw-necked Ibis.