Threskiornithidae
Encyclopedia
The family
Threskiornithidae includes 34 species
of large terrestrial and wading bird
s, falling into two subfamilies, the ibis
es and the spoonbill
s. 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 order Ciconiiformes
. A recent study found that they are members of the order Pelecaniformes
. In response to these findings, the International Ornithological Congress
(IOC) recently reclassified Threskiornithidae and their sister taxa Ardeidae under the order Pelecaniformes
instead of the previous order of Ciconiiformes. Whether the two subfamilies are reciprocally monophyletic
is an open question. The South American Checklist Committee's entry for the Threskiornithidae includes the following comment "Two subfamilies are traditionally (e.g., Matheu & del Hoyo 1992) recognized: Threskiornithinae for ibises and Plataleinae for spoonbills; because the main distinction has to do with bill shape, additional information, especially genetic, is required to recognize a major, deep split in the family."
A study of mitochondrial DNA of the spoonbills plus the Sacred
and Scarlet Ibis
es found that the spoonbills formed a clade with old world genus Threskiornis
, with Nipponia nippon and Eudocimus
as progressively earlier offshoots and more distant relatives, and hence casts doubt on the arrangement of the family into ibis and spoonbill subfamilies.
s and about 20 secondaries. They are strong fliers and, rather surprisingly, given their size and weight, very capable soarers. The body tends to be elongated, the neck more so, with rather long legs. The bill is also long, decurved in the case of the ibis
es, straight and distinctively flattened in the spoonbill
s. They are large birds, but mid-sized by the standards of their order, ranging from the Dwarf Olive Ibis
(Bostrychia bocagei), at 45 cm (18 in) and 450 g (1 lb), to the Giant Ibis
(Thaumatibis gigantea), at 100 cm (40 in) and 4.2 kg (9.2 lb).
They are distributed almost worldwide, being found near almost any area of standing or slow-flowing fresh or brackish water
. Ibises are also found in drier areas, including landfill
s. All are diurnal; spending the day feeding on a wide range of invertebrate
s and small vertebrate
s: ibises by probing in soft earth or mud, spoonbills by swinging the bill from side to side in shallow water. At night, they roost in trees near water. They are gregarious, feeding, roosting, and flying together, often in formation.
Nesting is colonial in ibises, more often in small groups or singly in spoonbills, nearly always in trees overhanging water, but sometimes on islands or small islands in swamps. Generally, the female builds a large structure out of reeds
and sticks brought by the male. Typical clutch size is 2 to 5; hatching is asynchronic. Both sexes incubate in shifts, and after hatching feed the young by partial regurgitation. Two or three weeks after hatching, the young no longer need to be brooded continuously and may leave the nest, often forming creches but returning to be fed by the parents.
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FAMILY: THRESKIORNITHIDAE
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 includes 34 species
Species
In biology, a species is one of the basic units of biological classification and a taxonomic rank. A species is often defined as a group of organisms capable of interbreeding and producing fertile offspring. While in many cases this definition is adequate, more precise or differing measures are...
of large terrestrial and 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...
s, falling into two subfamilies, the ibis
Ibis
The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae....
es and the spoonbill
Spoonbill
Spoonbills are a group of large, long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, which also includes the Ibises.All have large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading through shallow water, sweeping the partly opened bill from side to side...
s. 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 order Ciconiiformes
Ciconiiformes
Traditionally, the order Ciconiiformes has included a variety of large, long-legged wading birds with large bills: storks, herons, egrets, ibises, spoonbills, and several others. Ciconiiformes are known from the Late Eocene...
. A recent study found that they are members of the order Pelecaniformes
Pelecaniformes
The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...
. In response to these findings, the International Ornithological Congress
International Ornithological Congress
The International Ornithological Congress series forms the oldest and largest international series of meetings of ornithologists. It is organised by the International Ornithological Committee, a group of about 200 ornithologists...
(IOC) recently reclassified Threskiornithidae and their sister taxa Ardeidae under the order Pelecaniformes
Pelecaniformes
The Pelecaniformes is a order of medium-sized and large waterbirds found worldwide. As traditionally—but erroneously—defined, they encompass all birds that have feet with all four toes webbed. Hence, they were formerly also known by such names as totipalmates or steganopodes...
instead of the previous order of Ciconiiformes. Whether the two subfamilies are reciprocally monophyletic
Monophyly
In common cladistic usage, a monophyletic group is a taxon which forms a clade, meaning that it contains all the descendants of the possibly hypothetical closest common ancestor of the members of the group. The term is synonymous with the uncommon term holophyly...
is an open question. The South American Checklist Committee's entry for the Threskiornithidae includes the following comment "Two subfamilies are traditionally (e.g., Matheu & del Hoyo 1992) recognized: Threskiornithinae for ibises and Plataleinae for spoonbills; because the main distinction has to do with bill shape, additional information, especially genetic, is required to recognize a major, deep split in the family."
A study of mitochondrial DNA of the spoonbills plus the Sacred
Sacred Ibis
The African Sacred Ibis is a species of ibis.-Description:An adult individual is 68 cm long with all-white body plumage apart from dark plumes on the rump. The bald head and neck, thick curved bill and legs are black. The white wings show a black rear border in flight...
and Scarlet Ibis
Scarlet Ibis
The Scarlet Ibis is a species of ibis that inhabits tropical South America and also Trinidad and Tobago. It is the national bird of Trinidad and is featured on the Trinidad and Tobago coat of arms along with Tobago's national bird, the Rufous-vented Chachalaca.-Taxonomy:This species is very...
es found that the spoonbills formed a clade with old world genus Threskiornis
Threskiornis
Threskiornis is a genus of ibises, wading birds of the family Threskiornithidae. They occur in the warmer parts of the Old World in southern Asia, Australasia and sub-Saharan Africa....
, with Nipponia nippon and Eudocimus
Eudocimus
Eudocimus is a genus of ibises, wading birds of the family Threskiornithidae. They occur in the warmer parts of the New World with representatives from the southern United States south through Central America, the West Indies and South America....
as progressively earlier offshoots and more distant relatives, and hence casts doubt on the arrangement of the family into ibis and spoonbill subfamilies.
Description and ecology
Members of the family have long, broad wings with 11 primary featherFeather
Feathers are one of the epidermal growths that form the distinctive outer covering, or plumage, on birds and some non-avian theropod dinosaurs. They are considered the most complex integumentary structures found in vertebrates, and indeed a premier example of a complex evolutionary novelty. They...
s and about 20 secondaries. They are strong fliers and, rather surprisingly, given their size and weight, very capable soarers. The body tends to be elongated, the neck more so, with rather long legs. The bill is also long, decurved in the case of the ibis
Ibis
The ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae....
es, straight and distinctively flattened in the spoonbill
Spoonbill
Spoonbills are a group of large, long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, which also includes the Ibises.All have large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading through shallow water, sweeping the partly opened bill from side to side...
s. They are large birds, but mid-sized by the standards of their order, ranging from the Dwarf Olive Ibis
Dwarf Olive Ibis
The São Tomé Ibis , also known as the Dwarf Olive Ibis, is a critically endangered bird that is endemic to São Tomé e Príncipe...
(Bostrychia bocagei), at 45 cm (18 in) and 450 g (1 lb), to the Giant Ibis
Giant Ibis
The Giant Ibis, Thaumatibis gigantea, the only species in the monotypic genus Thaumatibis, is a wading bird of the ibis family, Threskiornithidae...
(Thaumatibis gigantea), at 100 cm (40 in) and 4.2 kg (9.2 lb).
They are distributed almost worldwide, being found near almost any area of standing or slow-flowing fresh or brackish water
Brackish water
Brackish water is water that has more salinity than fresh water, but not as much as seawater. It may result from mixing of seawater with fresh water, as in estuaries, or it may occur in brackish fossil aquifers. The word comes from the Middle Dutch root "brak," meaning "salty"...
. Ibises are also found in drier areas, including landfill
Landfill
A landfill site , is a site for the disposal of waste materials by burial and is the oldest form of waste treatment...
s. All are diurnal; spending the day feeding on a wide range of invertebrate
Invertebrate
An invertebrate is an animal without a backbone. The group includes 97% of all animal species – all animals except those in the chordate subphylum Vertebrata .Invertebrates form a paraphyletic group...
s and small vertebrate
Vertebrate
Vertebrates are animals that are members of the subphylum Vertebrata . Vertebrates are the largest group of chordates, with currently about 58,000 species described. Vertebrates include the jawless fishes, bony fishes, sharks and rays, amphibians, reptiles, mammals, and birds...
s: ibises by probing in soft earth or mud, spoonbills by swinging the bill from side to side in shallow water. At night, they roost in trees near water. They are gregarious, feeding, roosting, and flying together, often in formation.
Nesting is colonial in ibises, more often in small groups or singly in spoonbills, nearly always in trees overhanging water, but sometimes on islands or small islands in swamps. Generally, the female builds a large structure out of reeds
Reed bed
Reed beds are natural habitats found in floodplains, waterlogged depressions andestuaries. Reed beds are part of a succession from young reed colonising open water or wet ground through a gradation of increasingly dry ground...
and sticks brought by the male. Typical clutch size is 2 to 5; hatching is asynchronic. Both sexes incubate in shifts, and after hatching feed the young by partial regurgitation. Two or three weeks after hatching, the young no longer need to be brooded continuously and may leave the nest, often forming creches but returning to be fed by the parents.
Species
- Subfamily: ThreskiornithinaeIbisThe ibises are a group of long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae....
- Ibises- Genus ThreskiornisThreskiornisThreskiornis is a genus of ibises, wading birds of the family Threskiornithidae. They occur in the warmer parts of the Old World in southern Asia, Australasia and sub-Saharan Africa....
- Sacred IbisSacred IbisThe African Sacred Ibis is a species of ibis.-Description:An adult individual is 68 cm long with all-white body plumage apart from dark plumes on the rump. The bald head and neck, thick curved bill and legs are black. The white wings show a black rear border in flight...
, Threskiornis aethiopicus - Madagascar Sacred IbisMadagascar Sacred IbisThe Malagasy Sacred Ibis is a species of bird in the Threskiornithidae family. It is found in Madagascar and Seychelles. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical mangrove forests, estuarine waters, intertidal flats, and coastal saline lagoons. It is threatened by habitat...
, Threskiornis bernieri - Réunion Sacred IbisRéunion Sacred IbisThe Réunion Sacred Ibis, Threskiornis solitarius, is an extinct bird species that was native to the island of Réunion. It is probably the same bird discovered by Portuguese sailors there in 1613...
, Threskiornis solitarius extinctExtinct birdsSince 1500, over 190 species of birds have become extinct, and this rate of extinction seems to be increasing. The situation is exemplified by Hawaii, where 30% of all known recently extinct bird taxa originally lived... - Black-headed IbisBlack-headed IbisThe Black-headed Ibis or Oriental White Ibis 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...
, Threskiornis melanocephalus - Australian White IbisAustralian White IbisThe Australian White Ibis , is a wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae. It is widespread across much of Australia...
, Threskiornis molucca - Straw-necked IbisStraw-necked IbisThe 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....
, Threskiornis spinicollis
- Sacred Ibis
- Genus PseudibisPseudibisThe bird genus Pseudibis consists of two South-East Asian species in the ibis subfamily, Threskiornithinae. The Giant Ibis is also sometimes placed in this genus.Genus Pseudibis *Red-naped Ibis, Pseudibis papillosa...
- Indian Black Ibis, Pseudibis papillosa
- White-shouldered IbisWhite-shouldered IbisThe White-shouldered Ibis, Pseudibis davisoni, is a species of wading bird of the ibis family, Threskiornithidae. It occurs at a few sites in northern Cambodia, southern Vietnam, extreme southern Laos and East Kalimantan in Indonesia....
, Pseudibis davisoni
- Genus Thaumatibis
- Giant IbisGiant IbisThe Giant Ibis, Thaumatibis gigantea, the only species in the monotypic genus Thaumatibis, is a wading bird of the ibis family, Threskiornithidae...
, Thaumatibis gigantea
- Giant Ibis
- Genus GeronticusGeronticusThe small bird genus Geronticus belongs to the ibis subfamily . Its name is derived from the Greek gérontos in reference to the bald head of these dark-plumaged birds; in English they are called bald ibises.Geronticus contains two living species. The Northern Bald Ibis has a neck crest of...
- Northern Bald IbisNorthern Bald IbisThe Northern Bald Ibis, Hermit Ibis, or Waldrapp is a migratory bird found in barren, semi-desert or rocky habitats, often close to running water. This 70–80 cm glossy black ibis, which, unlike other members of the ibis family, is non-wading, has an unfeathered red face and head, and a long,...
, Geronticus eremita - Southern Bald IbisSouthern Bald IbisThe Southern Bald Ibis is a large bird found in open grassland or semi-desert in the mountains of southern Africa.This large, glossy, blue-black ibis has an unfeathered red face and head, and a long, decurved red bill. It breeds colonially on and amongst rocks and on cliffs, laying 2-3 eggs which...
, Geronticus calvus
- Northern Bald Ibis
- Genus Nipponia
- Japanese Crested Ibis, Nipponia nippon
- Genus BostrychiaBostrychiaBostrychia is a genus of ibises in the Threskiornithidae family. Member species are found in many countries throughout Africa. It contains the following five species:* Wattled Ibis * Hadada Ibis...
- Olive IbisOlive IbisThe Olive Ibis is a species of bird in the Threskiornithidae family.It is found in Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ivory Coast, Gabon, Ghana, Kenya, Liberia, São Tomé and Príncipe, Sierra Leone, and Tanzania.- References : Database entry includes...
, Bostrychia olivacea - Dwarf Olive IbisDwarf Olive IbisThe São Tomé Ibis , also known as the Dwarf Olive Ibis, is a critically endangered bird that is endemic to São Tomé e Príncipe...
, Bostrychia bocagei - Spot-breasted IbisSpot-breasted IbisThe Spot-breasted Ibis is a species of bird and is a member of the order Ciconiiformes and the family Threskiornithidae. It is a wading bird that lives is swampy forested areas and is found in tropical regions...
, Bostrychia rara - Hadada IbisHadada IbisThe Hadada or Hadeda Ibis, Bostrychia hagedash, is an ibis found in Sub-Saharan Africa.-Appearance:The Hadeda is a large , dark brown ibis with a white "moustache", glossy greenish purple wings, a large black bill with a red stripe on the upper mandible, and blackish legs.-Call:It has a...
, Bostrychia hagedash - Wattled IbisWattled IbisThe Wattled Ibis is a species of bird in the Threskiornithidae family. It is endemic to the Ethiopian highlands and is found only in Ethiopia and Eritrea.-Description:...
, Bostrychia carunculata
- Olive Ibis
- Genus TheristicusTheristicusTheristicus is a genus of birds in the Threskiornithidae family. They are found in open, grassy habitats in South America. All have a long, decurved dark bill, relatively short reddish legs that do no extend beyond the tail in flight , and at least the back is grey.-Taxonomy:Formerly, T. caudatus...
- Plumbeous IbisPlumbeous IbisThe Plumbeous Ibis is a species of bird in the Threskiornithidae family. It is found in grassland, savanna, fields and marshes in central South America, ranging in south-central and south-eastern Brazil, eastern and northern Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay and northern Argentina...
, Theristicus caerulescens - Buff-necked IbisBuff-necked IbisThe Buff-necked Ibis , also known as the White-throated Ibis, is a fairly large ibis found widely in open habitats of eastern and northern South America...
, Theristicus caudatus - Black-faced IbisBlack-faced IbisThe Black-faced Ibis is a species of bird in the Threskiornithidae family. It is found in grassland and fields in southern and western South America. It has been included as a subspecies of the similar Buff-necked Ibis, but today all major authorities accept the split...
, Theristicus melanopis
- Plumbeous Ibis
- Genus Cercibis
- Sharp-tailed IbisSharp-tailed IbisThe Sharp-tailed Ibis is a species of bird in the Threskiornithidae family. It is monotypic within the genus Cercibis.It is found in Brazil, Colombia, Guyana, Suriname, and Venezuela....
, Cercibis oxycerca
- Sharp-tailed Ibis
- Genus Mesembrinibis
- Green IbisGreen IbisThe Green Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae. It is the only member of the genus Mesembrinibis....
, Mesembrinibis cayennensis
- Green Ibis
- Genus Phimosus
- Whispering IbisWhispering IbisThe Bare-faced Ibis , also known as the Whispering Ibis, is a species of bird in the Threskiornithidae family, in the monotypic genus Phimosus....
, Phimosus infuscatus
- Whispering Ibis
- Genus EudocimusEudocimusEudocimus is a genus of ibises, wading birds of the family Threskiornithidae. They occur in the warmer parts of the New World with representatives from the southern United States south through Central America, the West Indies and South America....
- American White IbisAmerican White IbisThe American White Ibis is a species of wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae. It occurs from the mid-Atlantic and Gulf coast of the United States south through most of the New World tropics...
, Eudocimus albus - Scarlet IbisScarlet IbisThe Scarlet Ibis is a species of ibis that inhabits tropical South America and also Trinidad and Tobago. It is the national bird of Trinidad and is featured on the Trinidad and Tobago coat of arms along with Tobago's national bird, the Rufous-vented Chachalaca.-Taxonomy:This species is very...
, Eudocimus ruber
- American White Ibis
- Genus PlegadisPlegadisPlegadis is a bird genus in the family Threskiornithidae. Member species are found on every continent except Antarctica as well as a number of islands. The Glossy Ibis is easily the most widespread of the three species...
- Glossy IbisGlossy IbisThe Glossy Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This is the most widespread ibis species, breeding in scattered sites in warm regions of Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, and the Atlantic and Caribbean region of the Americas...
, Plegadis falcinellus - White-faced IbisWhite-faced IbisThe White-faced Ibis is a wading bird in the ibis family Threskiornithidae.This species breeds colonially in marshes, usually nesting in bushes or low trees. Its breeding range extends from the western USA south through Mexico, as well as from southeastern Brazil and southeastern Bolivia south to...
, Plegadis chihi - Puna IbisPuna IbisThe Puna Ibis is a species of bird in the Threskiornithidae family. It is found in Argentina, Bolivia, Chile, and Peru. Its natural habitat is swamps.-References:* BirdLife International 2004. . Downloaded on 24 July 2007....
, Plegadis ridgwayi
- Glossy Ibis
- Genus Lophotibis
- Madagascar Crested IbisMadagascar Crested IbisThe Madagascar Ibis , also known as the Madagascar Crested Ibis, White-winged Ibis or Crested Wood Ibis, is a medium-sized , brown-plumaged ibis. It has bare red orbital skin, yellow bill, red legs, white wings and its head is partially bare with a dense crest of green or gloss blue and white...
, Lophotibis cristata
- Madagascar Crested Ibis
- Genus Threskiornis
- Subfamily: PlataleinaeSpoonbillSpoonbills are a group of large, long-legged wading birds in the family Threskiornithidae, which also includes the Ibises.All have large, flat, spatulate bills and feed by wading through shallow water, sweeping the partly opened bill from side to side...
- Spoonbills- Genus Platalea
- Common SpoonbillCommon SpoonbillThe Eurasian Spoonbill or Common Spoonbill is a wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae, breeding in southern Eurasia from Spain to Japan, and also in North Africa. In Europe, only The Netherlands, Spain, Austria, Hungary and Greece have sizeable populations...
, Platalea leucorodia - Black-faced SpoonbillBlack-faced SpoonbillThe Black-faced Spoonbill has the most restricted distribution of all spoonbills, and it is the only one currently regarded as endangered. Confined to the coastal areas of eastern Asia, it seems that it was once common throughout its area of distribution...
, Platalea minor - African SpoonbillAfrican SpoonbillThe African Spoonbill is a long-legged wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family Threskiornithidae. The species is widespread across Africa and Madagascar, including Botswana, Kenya, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, and Zimbabwe. It lives in marshy wetlands with some open shallow water and...
, Platalea alba - Royal SpoonbillRoyal SpoonbillThe Royal Spoonbill, Platalea regia, also known as the Black-billed Spoonbill, occurs in intertidal flats and shallows of fresh and saltwater wetlands in Australia, New Zealand, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and the Solomon Islands. It has also been recorded as a vagrant in New Caledonia...
, Platalea regia - Yellow-billed SpoonbillYellow-billed SpoonbillThe Yellow-billed Spoonbill is common in southeast Australia; it is not unusual on the remainder of the continent, and is a vagrant to New Zealand, Lord Howe Island and Norfolk Island. It is around 90 cm long, and has white plumage with a yellow bill, legs and feet. It nests in trees, marshes or...
, Platalea flavipes - Roseate SpoonbillRoseate SpoonbillThe Roseate Spoonbill, Platalea ajaja, is a gregarious wading bird of the ibis and spoonbill family, Threskiornithidae...
, Platalea ajaja
- Common Spoonbill
- Genus Platalea
External links
- Threskiornithidae videos on the Internet Bird Collection