- Threskiornis spinicollis
Identification
60-75 cm. Dark wings with an iridescent sheen in sunlight, dark back and collar. White neck, white underparts and undertail, long, black, downcurved bill, legs are usually red near the top and dark grey toward the feet. Straw-like feathers on the neck of adults. Sexes are similar; males have longer bills and females have a dark band across their upper breast. Juveniles have duller colours, shorter bills with less curvature, and lack the straw-like plumes on the neck.
Distribution
Australia, Indonesia and New Guinea.
Taxonomy
This species is monotypic.[1]
Habitat
Shallow freshwater wetlands, cultivated pastures, edges of swamps and lagoons, and wet or dry grasslands.
Behaviour
- Diet: Includes aquatic insects, molluscs, frogs, and food sifted from the surface of the water, grasshoppers, crickets, and locusts.
- Breeding: A large, rough, cup-shaped nest of sticks and trampled plants is built among reeds, paperbarks, bulrushes, or trees over water. They build in colonies, often with the Australian white ibis.
References
- Clements, JF. 2008. The Clements Checklist of Birds of the World. 6th ed., with updates to December 2008. Ithaca: Cornell Univ. Press. ISBN 978-0801445019.
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2021) Straw-necked Ibis. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2021 from https://www.birdforum.net/wiki/Straw-necked_Ibis
