Glossy Ibis ( Plegadis falcinellus, family: Threskiornithidae)

glossy ibis kruger national park birds The Glossy Ibis (Latin name Plegadis falcinellus) is described in Roberts Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition. This bird has a unique Roberts number of 93 and you will find a full description of this bird on page 607 also a picture of the Glossy Ibis on page 593. The Glossy Ibis belongs to the family of birds classified as Threskiornithidae.

The map of the Kruger you see on this page shows the areas (coloured orange) where this bird has been identified. The basic information was provided by the Avian Demographic Unit based at UCT and I created the maps from that information ... the green dots show the locations of the various Kruger National Park Rest Camps

The Glossy Ibis is neither Endemic or near Endemic to the Kruger National Park.

In terms of distribution of the Glossy Ibis in the Kruger National Park you may not see it in all areas. Glossy Ibis : see above distribution map.

The Glossy Ibis.

Kruger Park Glossy IbisIdentification assistance for this avian species ...

One of the first indicators to take note of when trying to identify a bird is it relative size. For example how big is the bird compared to a well known familiar bird. The Glossy Ibis is a largish bird somewaht larger than a Pied Crow. The height of the Glossy Ibis is about 66 cms and its weight is about 650 gms

The male and female Glossy Ibis have the same plumage and colours

  • Head is chestnut.
  • Eye is hazel.
  • Bill is olive.
  • Throat is chestnut.
  • Back is chestnut.
  • Legs are olive.

This bird has normally proportioned leg length.

Main diet items for this bird ...

The Glossy Ibis feeds on the ground mainly

Reptiles

Smaller animals

Invertebrates

Aquatic life forms

Breeding and nesting habits for this bird ...

The Glossy Ibis is monogamous unless its mate dies. In the event of a partner dying Plegadis falcinellus will seek out a new mate

The nesting habit of Glossy Ibis is to create the nest on the ground. The bird lays eggs which are blue in colour and number between 2 to 4

Habitat and flocking behaviour for this bird ...

The preferred habitats for Glossy Ibis are: wetlands and riverine areas

You will normally see the Glossy Ibis in flocks.

Names of this avian species in other languages ...

Xhosa ... Unknown

Zulu ... Unknown

Afrikaans ...Glansibis

German ... Brauner Sichler

Portuguese ... Ibis-preto

French ... Ibis falcinelle

Dutch ... Zwarte Ibis

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For in-depth birding information please refer to these authoritative avian references ...

Robert's 7th edition number ... 93

The main reference source for this data was "Roberts - Birds of Southern Africa, 7th Edition" . Other references were "Newmans Birds of the Kruger Park" by Keith Newman published circa 1980 . Names in foreign languages were obtained from the Percy Fitzpatrick Institute of African Ornithology, University of Cape Town website , www.fitzpatrick.uct.ac.za