Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus Scientific name definitions

65–76 cm; wingspan 130 cm. Ornamental feathers grey , not black. Very little black on tips of primaries  , and none on secondaries. Non-breeding adult largely lacks grey scapulars and neck plumes. Some, but not all, breeding birds appear to develop a red patch on the bare skin of the hindneck (1 Kannan, V., Manakadan, R. and Sykes, B. R. (2010). Red patch on the hindneck of Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus in breeding colonies in India. BirdingASIA. 14: 99–100. Close ). Immature  has blackish, feathered head  and neck ; whitish on foreneck; bare skin of underwing  black instead of red .

Breeds from Pakistan (S Sind) and Nepal through India to Sri Lanka; probably NE China (Heilongjiang); also Cambodia, S Vietnam, Java and possibly Sumatra. Winters in S China, Myanmar, Thailand, Sumatra and Philippines. Formerly more widespread in E Asia.

Open country in marshes, swamps, flooded areas, margins of rivers and lakes, paddyfields and fallow land; also wet grasslands ; less often intertidal mudflats, mangroves and brackish lagoons. Nests in wetlands; sometimes close to human dwellings.

Largely sedentary throughout most of range, but birds move around in response to changes in water levels and feeding conditions. Residual population of E China migrates in winter to coastal regions: the species is now a rare non-breeding visitor along E & S coasts, occasionally inland to Sichuan and Yunnan. Also a scarce non-breeding visitor to Japan, from where there were just 77 records between 1874 and 1985, and is a rare non-breeding visitor to S Philippines. Vagrants have reached Taiwan , Laos and Borneo and there are two records from L Baikal, Russia (2 Mlíkovský, J. (2009). Waterbirds of Lake Baikal, eastern Siberia, Russia. Forktail 25:13–70. Close ). Flocks commonly fly in single file or V formation.

Diet includes frogs, tadpoles, snails, adults and larvae of insects, and worms; also fish  and crustaceans, probably more commonly when feeding in coastal areas; occasionally plant matter. Usually feeds in medium-sized to large groups; probes with bill in mud or shallow water ; often submerges whole head and neck, when wading in shallow water; sometimes associates with grazing buffalo, possibly taking insects they flush.

Usually silent away from breeding colonies. Around nest, some low-pitched grunts and croaks, and a loud booming call has also been reported, probably during display (3 Hancock, J. A., J. A. Kushlan, and M. P. Kahl (1992). Storks, Ibises and Spoonbills of the World. Academic Press, London. Close ). Young begging for food utter continuous rasping calls.

Season Jun–Oct in N India, Nov–Mar in S India and Sri Lanka; varies depending on water conditions after onset of monsoon. Colonial, often with other Ciconiiformes and cormorants. Nest is small cup-shaped platform of sticks, usually unlined; sited in trees or shrubs over or near water. Usually three eggs (2–4); incubation 23–25 days; chicks  have black down on head, white on body; fledging c. 40 days. Heavy predation by crows, raptors and man reported at several colonies.

Not globally threatened. Currently considered Near Threatened. Global population estimated at 15,000–30,000 birds, about half of them in S Asia and the remainder in SE Asia, with a few in E Asia. However, recent information from SE Asia suggests that total population in that region was no more than 1000 birds in 2011 (see below) (4 Iqbal, M. and Hasudungan, F. (2012). The rapid decline of the Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus in Indonesia. BirdingASIA. 18: 72–75. Close ). It has declined in many areas on account of habitat loss, including wetland drainage, although it uses rice paddies. In Indonesia the marked decline in numbers on Sumatra is thought to have been accelerated by loss of breeding habitat due to conversion of mangroves to fishponds and conversion of swamp forest to Acacia plantations for the wood pulp industry (4 Iqbal, M. and Hasudungan, F. (2012). The rapid decline of the Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus in Indonesia. BirdingASIA. 18: 72–75. Close ). Numbers in SE Asia especially have also been also affected by hunting and egg collection, and the effects of pesticides. S Asian population concentrated in India, where it is widespread and locally common in W but scarce in E, although possibly increasing locally due to spread of man-made wetlands. Also common in Sri Lanka, especially in dry zone, and Nepal, where it is frequent in SE. Only a scarce resident in Pakistan, principally in Indus Delta region, and is only a local visitor to coastal and NE Bangladesh. SE Asian population has suffered severe recent declines in many areas. Indonesian population has been estimated at some 2000 birds but there are now far fewer: the numerous breeding colonies reported on Java in the early 20th century have disappeared and the sizeable Sumatran population has declined markedly: in 2011 there were < 50 birds on Java  and an estimated 100–150 birds on Sumatra (a 90% decline since 1984) (4 Iqbal, M. and Hasudungan, F. (2012). The rapid decline of the Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus in Indonesia. BirdingASIA. 18: 72–75. Close ). Elsewhere in SE Asia, the Asian Waterbird Census 2006 found just two birds each in Malaysia and Thailand, and 252–340 in Myanmar, where 730 were counted in Jan 1991. According to BirdLife International, it formerly occurred in Peninsular Malaysia and probably bred in W, but is now rarely recorded. It similarly was once a common resident in Thailand but now is an uncommon winter visitor. It remains an uncommon but widespread non-breeding visitor to Myanmar. It was formerly an abundant breeder in Vietnam and until recently it was still reported as locally common, with a few large breeding colonies remaining. In the 1990s these included 1500–2000 breeding birds at Dam Doi, 800–1000 at Bac Lieu and 500–600 at Cai Nuoc, in the Mekong Delta; however, post-1999 surveys found a maximum of 66 birds in total at the Mekong Delta (5 Buckton, S.T. and Safford, R.J. (2004). The avifauna of the Vietnamese Mekong Delta. Bird Conservation International. 14(4): 279–322. Close ). Fairly common in Cambodia until the 1960s but is now scarce and local there, breeding in small numbers around Tonle Sap. The very small E Asian population, fewer than 100 adults, is thought to breed in Heilongjiang, China.