African sacred ibises have all-white body plumage apart from dark plumes on the rump. Males are generally slightly larger than females.
The bald head and neck, thick curved bill, and legs of these birds are black. The white wings show a black rear border in flight. The eyes are brown with a dark red orbital ring. Sexes are similar, but juveniles have dirty white plumage, a smaller bill and some feathering on the neck, greenish-brown scapular, and more black on the primary coverts.
African sacred ibises breed in Sub-Saharan Africa and southeastern Iraq. A number of populations are migrants with the rains; some of the South African birds migrate 1,500 km as far north as Zambia, and the African birds north of the equator migrate in the opposite direction. The Iraqi population usually migrates to southwestern Iran. African sacred ibises live in marshy wetlands and mud flats, both inland and on the coast. They prefer to nest on trees in or near water and feed in very shallow wetlands or slowly stomp in wet pastures with soft soil. They also visit cultivation and rubbish dumps.
African sacred ibises are very social birds; they nest in big colonies and feed in groups of up to 20 individuals. They wade primarily by day catching aquatic prey in shallow waters or probing into the soil with their long beaks for invertebrates. The birds are usually silent and only occasionally make puppy-like yelping noises.
African sacred ibises are carnivores (insectivores, verimivores, molluscivores, piscivores). Their diet consists of mainly insects, worms, crustaceans, mollusks, and other invertebrates, as well as various fish, frogs, reptiles, small mammals, and carrion. They may even eat seeds and in winter sometimes supplement their diet by feeding at rubbish tips.
African sacred ibises are serially monogamous and form pair bonds that last only one breeding season. They usually breed once per year in the wet season; from March to August in Africa, and from April to May in Iraq. The birds nest in tree colonies, often with other large wading birds such as storks, herons, African spoonbills, African darters, and cormorants. They may also form single-species groups on offshore islands or abandoned buildings. Large colonies consist of numerous subcolonies and can number 1000 birds. African sacred ibises build a stick nest, often in a baobab tree but island nests are often made on the ground. Females lay 1 to 5 eggs per season and both parents incubate them for 21 to 29 days. After hatching, one parent continuously stays in the nest for the first 7 days. Chicks fledge after 35 to 40 days and become independent after 44 to 48 days. They become reproductively mature and start to breed 1 to 5 years after hatching.
African sacred ibises don’t face any major threats at present. However, populations of these birds suffer from habitat loss due to urbanization, pollution, hunting, and in some areas from the collection of eggs and newly hatched chicks by local people.
According to IUCN Red List, the total population size of the African sacred ibis is 200,000-450,000 individuals. Currently, this species is classified as Least Concern (LC) on the IUCN Red List and its numbers today are stable.
These birds play an important role throughout their native range in Africa. They prey on a wide variety of smaller animals and thus control their populations.
