Family Threskiornithidae

Ibises, Spoonbills

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General

Medium-sized to large wading and terrestrial birds with longish neck and legs; long bill thin and decurved, or broad and flat.
All regions except Antarctic, with greatest diversity in tropics.
Variety of wetlands, with some species in forests, grassland and arid or semi-arid areas.

46-110 cm.

14 genera, 35 species, 49 taxa.

8 species threatened;
1 subspecies extinct since 1600.

Systematics

The earliest fossils of the Threskiornithidae date back 60 million years to the Eocene. From the Pliocene in South Africa come remains of the present genera Geronticus and Threskiornis, in the...

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Morphological Aspects

Ibises and spoonbills are medium-sized to largish birds, ranging in length from just under 50 cm in the smallest species to 110 cm in the Giant Ibis. In some species, males are slightly larger than females.

The body is elongated, but robust, with a fairly long neck. The most...

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Habitat

The family Threskiornithidae is cosmopolitan, and both ibises and spoonbills are present in all the continents except Antarctica. They are mainly found in the tropics and subtropics, but are also represented...

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General Habits

In general, ibises and spoonbills are gregarious, both in their feeding and breeding, and also when they are resting during the...

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Voice

In both ibises and spoonbills the vocal apparatus is not very highly developed, so they generally tend to be rather silent. The voice is mainly used during pair formation, the building and occupation of the...

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Food and Feeding

All spoonbills and most ibises feed in shallow water. Their diet consists of aquatic insects, insect larvae, crustaceans,...

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Breeding

Most ibises and spoonbills nest in fairly dense colonies, often in association with other waterbirds, in particular herons, but also storks, cormorants or darters.

Colonies are situated in trees, bushes, low vegetation such as sawgrass or bulrushes, or sometimes even on the ground,...

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Movements

As a rule, ibises and spoonbills tend to be sedentary in the tropics, whereas in subtropical and particularly temperate zones, most carry out true migrations. Migration takes place by day and probably also by...

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Relationship with Man

The ancient Egyptians acknowledged the Nile as the source and protector of life, so the ibis, which appeared in the region during the annual flooding of the great river, was considered worthy of their adoration. For the Egyptians, the...

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Status and Conservation

Seven members of the Threskiornithidae are currently listed as globally threatened, four of them, the Giant, Northern Bald and Japanese Crested Ibises and the Black-faced Spoonbill, in the Endangered category;...

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General Bibliography

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Species list

List of species of the Ibises, Spoonbills (Threskiornithidae) family. Each species provides information on taxonomy, descriptive notes, voice, habitat, food and feeding, breeding, movements, status and conservation and bibliography.

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Public comments

Recommended citation

Matheu, E. & del Hoyo, J. (2019). Ibises, Spoonbills (Threskiornithidae). In: del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., Sargatal, J., Christie, D.A. & de Juana, E. (eds.). Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona. (retrieved from https://www.hbw.com/node/52207 on 11 December 2019).

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Family Threskiornithidae

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