#ibis

[clara-scintilla]

Witness 🌙

[mellifexfarm]

taking a bath

[solarpunks]

This bird came back from extinction - now scientists in a glider are teaching it to migrate

Extinct in central Europe for 300 years, 36 northern bald ibis are following an ultralight aircraft on their long-forgotten migration route from Austria to Spain

Fritz was inspired by the 1996 film Fly Away Home in which the main character flies an ultralight plane to show orphaned geese their migratory path. The film was based on the work of “Father Goose” Bill Lishman, a naturalist who taught Canadian geese in the same way in 1988.

Breeding efforts to increase their population over the past two decades have been successful, but without guidance from wild ancestors, the birds – known for their bald red head and long curved beak – no longer had any knowledge of which direction to fly for winter. Early reintroduction attempts were largely unsuccessful – instead of returning to suitable wintering grounds such as Tuscany, Italy, the birds flew in different directions and died.

When they reach the wintering grounds, the birds become fully independent and no longer need their foster parents, although they still recognise them years later and actively approach to say hello (the birds have a ritual greeting in which they spread their hair and bow, making a “chrrupp” noise). The central European population has increased from zero to almost 300 since the start of the project in 2002, and in 2011 the first bird migrated back to Bavaria from Tuscany without human help.

This is amazing and also very sweet. Do click though and read the whole article at the Guardian.

[cheglok-art]

More fountain pen bird sketches I've done recently while feeling kinda bad about art. I REALLY love birds that have a lot of texture in them, like the wrinkles in the skin of their bald heads, or fun feather shapes. And I LOVE a large bill.

[2022dirt]

Japanese Crested Ibis Waiting for Food.

[todaysbird]

the african sacred ibis, often known colloquially as the sacred ibis, is a wading bird found in africa along with portions of iraq, iran and kuwait. their name comes from their importance in ancient egyptian religion; they were believed to be the earthly version of the god thoth, and sacred ibises were frequently mummified as offerings - it’s believed that over eight million total ibises were mummified. a snail, one of the main staples of the ibises’ diet, was often placed in the bill of mummified birds. unfortunately, they are currently extirpated from egypt, although they still maintain large population sizes elsewhere. african sacred ibises are striking and easily recognizable, with almost entirely white plumage (apart from black wingtips and some black plumage on the rump); they also have bald heads and long, curved bills. males are slightly larger than females on average, but plumage doesn’t differ between sexes. unlike many closely related ibis species, the african sacred ibis is typically quiet, though they make puppy-like yelping sounds on occasion. their diet largely consists of aquatic prey such as mollusks, insects, crustaceans, and anything else that enters their path - fish, reptiles, small mammals and even carrion. they’ve also been observed feeding on eggs, both of crocodiles and of other birds. feeding often takes place in large, social flocks, and ibises are known for joining mixed-species colonies to feed peacefully in a group. the african sacred ibis is estimated to have a population size of 200,000–450,000 birds, with numbers decreasing in recent years.

[olessan]