|
General Information
Description: The Australian White Ibis has bare, black skin on its
head and neck. It has white plumage and a long down-curved bill which is
distinctive. Flocks of White Ibis circle, soar and travel in undulating
lines of rough "V" formation and appear clean white against a deep blue sky.
At close range, their plumage and skin are often stained muddy grey.
 Voice:
They are usually silent but for deep grunted "urrk", but they are noisy in
colonies and when setting to roost make deep croaked and grunted honkings.
Similar: At
a distance, the Australian White Ibis may be mistaken for Straw Necked Ibis
or Spoonbills.
Habitat:
Australian White Ibis live in shallow fresh and tidal wetlands and pastures.
Preferred habitats include swamps, lagoons, floodplains and grasslands, but
it has also become a successful inhabitant of urban parks and gardens.
Food: The
range of food includes both terrestrial and aquatic invertebrates and human
scraps. The most preferred foods are crayfish and mussels, which the bird
obtains by digging with its long bill. Mussels are opened by hammering them
on a hard surface to reveal the soft body inside.
Breeding:
The male secures a pairing territory on a branch of a tall tree in order to
attract a female. The courtship
ceremony involves the male putting on a noisy display, as well as showing
aggression towards other males. When a female arrives, the male attracts her
by bowing from his branch. He then offers the female a twig, forging a bond
when she grasps it and they begin to preen one another. Once the pair bond
is cemented, the birds fly off to build a nest at another location.
Australian White Ibis nest in large colonies, often with the Straw-necked
Ibis, T. spinicollis. Young are born naked and helpless. One or two broods
may be reared in a year.
Status:
Common to abundant in Northern and Eastern Australia, and an isolated
region of South-western Australia, but they are not found in Tasmania. They
are sedentary and dispersive.
Reference:
Photo and some information - Australian Museum Fact Sheet
http://www.amonline.net.au/factsheets/australian_white_Ibis.htm
Some information and pictures were taken from children's charts and
where credited to that child does not claim to be original information.
Where possible, permission to reproduce has been sought and ownership
credited. Any infringement of copyright is purely unintentional and
ownership of pictures and information used is freely acknowledged.
|
