Threskiornis aethiopicus (sacred ibis)

Pictures

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Picture

Title

Caption

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A colony of Sacred ibis

Colony of Sacred ibis on an island in the estuary of the River Loire. Loire-Atlantique, France.

Philippe Clergeau

Individual birds

Individual birds in a colony of Sacred ibis on an island in the estuary of the River Loire. Loire-Atlantique, France.

Philippe Clergeau

Nests with eggs

The nests of sacred ibis are made on the ground. France.

Philippe Clergeau

Nest with eggs

A nest with a clutch of two eggs. France.

Philippe Clergeau

Nest with eggs

Close-up of a Sacred ibis nest with a clutch of two eggs. France

Philippe Clergeau

Sacred ibis foraging

Sacred ibis foraging on the coast at low tide. France

Philippe Clergeau

Identity

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Preferred Scientific Name

Threskiornis aethiopicus (Latham, 1790)

Preferred Common Name

sacred ibis

Other Scientific Names

Tantalus aethiopicus Latham 1790
Threskiornis aethiopica

Local Common Names

France: ibis sacré
Germany: heiliger Ibis
Spain: ibis sagrado

Summary of Invasiveness

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T. aethiopicus is commonly presented in zoological parks around the world; in several cases, birds are allowed to fly freely and can move out of the zoo limits and constitute feral populations. The first feral populations were observed in the 1970s in eastern Spain and in the 1990s in western France; more recently they have been observed in southern France, northern Italy, Taiwan, The Netherlands and the eastern USA. In France, these populations rapidly became numerous (more than 5000 birds in western France) and spread over some thousand kilometres, giving rise to new colonies. Although the impacts of feral populations of ibis have not been analysed in all introduced areas, studies in western and southern France indicate the predatory impact of this opportunist bird (especially destruction of tern and heron eggs and young, and capture of amphibians), as has been observed in its native range (South Africa; Williams and Ward, 2006). Other impacts are observed, such as the destruction of vegetation at breeding sites, or suspected, such as the spreading of diseases -- ibises frequently visit rubbish dumps and slurry pits to catch insect larvae and can then move to pastures or poultry farms.

The status of T. aethiopicus is “widespread and not threatened”. It is not listed as an alien invasive species by the Global Invasive Species Database (from IUCN’s Invasive Species Specialist Group), but it is listed by DAISIE.

Taxonomic Tree

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Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Metazoa
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Class: Aves
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Threskiornithidae
Genus: Threskiornis
Species: Threskiornis aethiopicus

Notes on Taxonomy and Nomenclature

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The Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus) in south Asia and the Australian White Ibis (Threskiornis molucca) in Australia are considered by some authors as races of T. aethiopicus.

Three subspecies are distinguished in T. aethiopicus, although these are perhaps only morphological variations:

T. aethiopicus aethiopicus (Latham, 1790), in sub-Saharan Africa (the main area of distribution) and southern Iraq; formerly in Egypt

T. aethiopicus bernieri (Bonaparte, 1855), in Madagascar

T. aethiopicus abbotti (Ridgway, 1893), on the island of Aldabra.

Description

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T. aethiopicus has a length of 65-89 cm and a wingspan of 112-124 cm; the weight is about 1500g (Urban, 1974). The female adults are smaller, especially the bill. The plumage is white with primaries and secondaries tipped black. The bill is curved and thick. The head and the neck are bare and black. Immature birds have blackish-brown tertials and the head and neck are feathered (Hoyo et al., 1992; Reeber, 2005).

Distribution

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T. aethiopicus in zoos seem to originate essentially from Kenya. There are also exchanges of birds between zoos. Today there are numerous small feral populations of T. aethiopicus around the world. The oldest populations, as in France, remained stable at low numbers for several years before exploding about 10 years ago. The current biggest feral population occurs in western France and tagged birds have dispersed to some neighbouring countries. The Italian population seems to have been spreading in recent years.

In addition to the countries listed in the distribution table, the species is also reported to have been introduced to Taiwan (P. Yésou (Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage, délégation de l'Ouest, France) and W. Hu (Yangte Blvd Sec., Taipei, Taiwan), personal communication, 2006).

Distribution Table

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The distribution in this summary table is based on all the information available. When several references are cited, they may give conflicting information on the status. Further details may be available for individual references in the Distribution Table Details section which can be selected by going to Generate Report.

Last updated: 17 Dec 2021

Continent/Country/Region	Distribution	Last Reported	Origin	First Reported	Invasive	Reference	Notes
Africa
Angola	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Benin	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Botswana	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Burkina Faso	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Burundi	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Cameroon	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Central African Republic	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Chad	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Congo, Democratic Republic of the	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Congo, Republic of the	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Côte d'Ivoire	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Djibouti	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Equatorial Guinea	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Eritrea	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Eswatini	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Ethiopia	Present, Widespread		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Gabon	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Gambia	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Ghana	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Guinea	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Guinea-Bissau	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Kenya	Present, Widespread		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Lesotho	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Liberia	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Madagascar	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Malawi	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Mozambique	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Nigeria	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Rwanda	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Senegal	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Seychelles
-Aldabra Islands	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Sierra Leone	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Somalia	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
South Africa	Present, Widespread		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Sudan	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Tanzania	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Togo	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Uganda	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Zambia	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Zimbabwe	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)
Asia
Bahrain	Present		Introduced	1995		Seebens et al. (2017)
Iraq	Present		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992)	Amara
Kuwait	Present, Few occurrences		Native			Hoyo et al. (1992) Seebens et al. (2017)
Oman	Present		Introduced	1983		Seebens et al. (2017)
Saudi Arabia	Present		Introduced	1983		Seebens et al. (2017)
Singapore	Present		Introduced	1989		Seebens et al. (2017)
Taiwan	Present		Introduced	2006		Seebens et al. (2017)
United Arab Emirates	Present		Introduced	1976		Lever (2005) Seebens et al. (2017)
Yemen	Present		Introduced	1983		Seebens et al. (2017)
Europe
Belgium	Absent, Formerly present					Clergeau and Yésou (2006) Seebens et al. (2017)	One attempt at breeding in 2001
France	Present, Widespread		Introduced		Invasive	Clergeau and Yésou (2006) Seebens et al. (2017)	First feral reproduction in western France in 1991, in southern France in 2000
Germany	Present, Only in captivity/cultivation					Clergeau and Yésou (2006) Seebens et al. (2017)
Italy	Present, Widespread	2008	Introduced	1989		Clergeau and Yésou (2006) Seebens et al. (2017)	At least 3 colonies in the Piedmont
Luxembourg	Present, Only in captivity/cultivation					Clergeau and Yésou (2006)
Netherlands	Present, Few occurrences		Introduced	2002		Ottens (2006) Seebens et al. (2017)
Portugal	Present, Few occurrences		Introduced	1998		Clergeau and Yésou (2006) Seebens et al. (2017)	Coimbra?
Spain	Present		Introduced			Lever (2005) Clergeau and Yésou (2006) Juana (2006) Seebens et al. (2017)	Feral populations in Catalonia (1974, possibly eradicated); Malaga (1997?); Andalucia (2008, possibly eradicated)
-Canary Islands	Present	2005	Introduced	1997		Lever (2005) Clergeau and Yésou (2006)	Only a few pairs from 1997
United Kingdom	Present, Few occurrences		Introduced			CABI (Undated) Seebens et al. (2017)	Original citation: J. Marchant, British Trust for Ornithology, Thetford, UK, personal comunication, 2011
North America
United States	Present					CABI (Undated a) Seebens et al. (2017)	Present based on regional distribution.
-Florida	Present, Widespread		Introduced			Herring et al. (2006) Herring and Gawlik (2008)	Only a few nests in 4 colonies. Breeding only since 2005; First reported: 1990s

History of Introduction and Spread

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All the introductions of T. aethiopicus are linked to escape from zoos. The history of the spread and breeding of the species is briefly presented here (For more details and other populations see Yésou and Clergeau (2005) and Clergeau and Yésou (2006)).

In Italy, T. aethiopicus has bred in the upper Po valley (Piedmont) since 1989, having escaped from a zoo near Turin. There were 26 pairs and about 100 individuals in 2000. In 2003, breeding was observed at another site in the same area, with possibly up to 25-30 pairs, and a few more pairs were found at a third colony in 2004. Since these dates there has been neither a co-ordinated count of the breeding sites nor an updated estimate of the population size.

In Western France, after 20 birds were imported from Kenya, a breeding colony soon became established at Branféré zoological garden in southern Brittany. There were 150 pairs in the zoo in 1990. The young were left free to fly and rapidly moved beyond the zoo, mostly visiting the nearby wetlands but also wandering hundreds of kilometres away along the Atlantic coast. Breeding in the wild was first noted in 1993 at both the Golfe du Morbihan, 25 km from the introduction site, and the Lac de Grand-Lieu, 70 km away. Breeding has not occurred at Branféré zoo since 1997. Colonies later occurred at various sites along the French Atlantic seaboard: in Brière marshes (up to about 100 nests), in the Golfe du Morbihan and on a marine island nearby (up to about 100 nests), with a few more nests up to 350 km south of Branféré at Brouage marshes and near Arcachon. The largest colony was discovered in 2004 on an artificial island in the estuary of the Loire River; in 2005 this attracted at least 820 pairs. The French Atlantic population was a little over 1000 breeding pairs and about 3000 individuals in 2004-2005 (based on a roost census). There were about 1400 to 1800 pairs in 2007 with more than 5000 individuals. Culling was tested in 2007 and has been carried out at a large scale from 2008; 3000 birds were shot that year, leading to a remaining total of 2500 individuals in February 2009 and a breeding population of about 900 pairs that year.

In Southern France, T. aethiopicus was acclimatized in 1982 within the “African Reserve” at Sigean. They were left free to fly by 1989 and a pair bred in 1991. Observations in natural surroundings became regular from 1995, and in 2000 the species bred in a colony of 8 nests in the wild at Etang de Bages. This colony held 75 pairs in 2004 and about 300 individuals in 2007. Population limitation began in 2007 and fewer than 30 birds remained in the wild in February 2009.

Risk of Introduction

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The risk of introduction is completely linked to zoos. Sometimes individuals escape from captivity, but in general, the birds are allowed to fly freely and can move out of the zoo limits and form feral populations. The use of pinioning or of large aviaries seems indispensable to prevent this.

Habitat

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In Africa, T. aethiopicus forages in a diversity of open habitats, both wet and dry, including natural grassland but also artificial sites such as dams, sewage works, sites used for washing pigs, dung heaps, refuse dumps and cultivated land, as well as coastal lagoons, intertidal areas and coastal islets (Clark, 1979; A. J. Williams, University of Cape Town, Western Cape Nature Conservation Board, Rondebosch, South Africa, personal communication, 2005). Their nest and roost sites also show a high diversity in Africa, from wetlands and coastal islands to urban parks (review in Brown et al., 1982; Hancock et al., 1992).

In areas where the species has been introduced, the same opportunism is found. Ibises forage in meadows (usually but not only wet meadows, with or without cattle) and rubbish dumps (all year round), and marshes and reedbeds (particularly used in spring and summer). They can also feed in ploughed fields, farmyards and open-air poultry farms. Occasionally small populations can settle in suburban and even urban landscapes. The roost is commonly in trees of different species and nesting colony sites can be in trees, in shrubs or on the ground. T. aethiopicus shows a large tolerance to various landscapes but the presence of water appears essential (Clergeau and Yésou, 2006).

Habitat List

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Category	Sub-Category	Habitat	Presence	Status
Brackish		Inland saline areas	Principal habitat	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Brackish		Inland saline areas	Principal habitat	Natural
Terrestrial
Terrestrial	Managed	Cultivated / agricultural land	Secondary/tolerated habitat	Natural
Terrestrial	Managed	Managed grasslands (grazing systems)	Secondary/tolerated habitat	Natural
Terrestrial	Managed	Industrial / intensive livestock production systems	Secondary/tolerated habitat	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Managed	Industrial / intensive livestock production systems	Secondary/tolerated habitat	Natural
Terrestrial	Managed	Disturbed areas	Secondary/tolerated habitat	Natural
Terrestrial	Managed	Urban / peri-urban areas	Secondary/tolerated habitat	Natural
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Natural grasslands	Secondary/tolerated habitat	Natural
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Riverbanks	Principal habitat	Natural
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Wetlands	Principal habitat	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Terrestrial	Natural / Semi-natural	Wetlands	Principal habitat	Natural
Littoral		Coastal areas	Principal habitat	Natural
Littoral		Intertidal zone	Principal habitat	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Littoral		Intertidal zone	Principal habitat	Natural
Littoral		Salt marshes	Principal habitat	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Littoral		Salt marshes	Principal habitat	Natural
Freshwater
Freshwater		Irrigation channels	Secondary/tolerated habitat	Natural
Freshwater		Lakes	Secondary/tolerated habitat	Natural
Freshwater		Reservoirs	Secondary/tolerated habitat	Harmful (pest or invasive)
Freshwater		Reservoirs	Secondary/tolerated habitat	Natural
Freshwater		Rivers / streams	Secondary/tolerated habitat	Natural
Freshwater		Ponds	Secondary/tolerated habitat	Natural
Brackish		Estuaries	Principal habitat	Natural
Brackish		Lagoons	Principal habitat	Natural

Biology and Ecology

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Genetics

The first study is in progress at the University of Sydney, Australia.

Reproductive biology

T. aethiopicus breeds in colonies up to hundreds of pairs in size. The nests contain branches and sticks and are sometimes very close. After the young hatch, sometimes these nests form a large continuous platform. Usually 2-5 eggs are incubated for 28 days (Urban, 1974; Yésou et al., 2006). In Ethiopia, Urban (1974) noted a mean of 2.24 eggs per nest, and 1.06 young per nest just before fledging. In areas of Brittany (France) where the species was introduced, Marion and Marion (1994) and Reeber (S. Reeber, Réserve naturelle du lac de Grand-Lieu, Bouaye, France, unpublished data) noted, respectively, 2.79 and 2.38 eggs per nest and 1.36 and 2.38 young per nest. The possibility of a second brood has not been clearly demonstrated in introduced areas.

Physiology and phenology

T. aethiopicus survives well in Northern Europe when winters are not too harsh. It shows clear adaptability to various habitats from sea coasts to agricultural and urban areas and to various food items, in both native and exotic ranges.

Nutrition

T. aethiopicus is an opportunistic feeder which favours invertebrates (e.g. insects, molluscs, crayfish...) when foraging in meadows and marshes, but also takes larger prey when they are available, including fish, amphibians, eggs and young birds (Clark, 1979; Brown et al., 1982; Clergeau et al., 2010b). Some individuals can specialize as predators at seabird colonies (see ‘Impacts’ section). Feeding on rubbish dumps is general.

Associations

T. aethiopicus mixes with other Ciconiiformes in roosts, colonies or feeding areas. In the exotic range, these species are especially little egrets Egretta garzetta, cattle egrets Bubulcus ibis and spoonbills Platalea leucorodia.

Environmental requirements

In South Africa, T. aethiopicus has progressively spread from the coast to the interior using managed agricultural land and numerous water storage basins. It can disperse, depending on rainfall, over several hundreds of kilometres in Angola and Zambia (Harrison et al., 1997). Species with such a capability to occupy a wide niche or to adapt to changing environments are more likely to successfully invade new environments than are specialized species. The fact that feral populations of sacred ibis have begun to settle in the north of Europe indicates a large tolerance to various latitudes and temperatures.

Climate

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Climate	Status	Description	Remark
Am - Tropical monsoon climate	Preferred	Tropical monsoon climate ( < 60mm precipitation driest month but > (100 - [total annual precipitation(mm}/25]))
Cf - Warm temperate climate, wet all year	Preferred	Warm average temp. > 10°C, Cold average temp. > 0°C, wet all year

Natural enemies

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Natural enemy	Type	Life stages	Specificity	References	Biological control in	Biological control on
Rattus norvegicus	Predator	Other\|Juvenile	not specific		No

Notes on Natural Enemies

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The predators of T. aethiopicus are not numerous. Rats (Rattus norvegicus) have been noted in a Mediterranean colony feeding on young or eggs, and the gulls Larus argentatus and Larus michahellis may also do so. However, the spatial concentration of nests in ibis colonies strongly limits predation, which is observed mainly when the majority of adults leave the colony because of a disturbance. Predation on roost sites also seems rare because the layer of droppings on the soil limits the presence of foxes Vulpes vulpes (personal observation: P. Clergeau, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Paris, France) and because the birds are not very accessible to ground predators when perched.

Means of Movement and Dispersal

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As a first step, birds were transported by plane from native areas where they were captured, such as Kenya, to numerous zoos, especially during the 1970s.

As a second step, the high breeding success in captivity permits numerous exchanges of individuals between zoos.

As a third step, in several cases the birds are allowed to fly freely within the zoo and then settle nearby, for example in Brittany (France), Florida (USA) or Catalonia (Spain), or spread into other regions up to hundreds kilometres away such as in western France (Clergeau and Yésou, 2006).

Pathway Causes

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Cause	Notes	Long Distance	Local	References
Botanical gardens and zoos	Origin: East Africa. Introduction: many countries	Yes		Clergeau and Yésou (2006); Clergeau et al. (2005); Ottens (2006)
Escape from confinement or garden escape	In Taiwan, USA, Spain, France, Italy, Portugal, Canary Islands, Netherlands		Yes	Clergeau and Yésou (2006); Clergeau et al. (2005); Herring and Gawlik (2008); Ottens (2006)

Impact Summary

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Category	Impact
Cultural/amenity	Negative
Environment (generally)	Negative

Economic Impact

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Economic impact of T. aethiopicus is not documented anywhere. Suspicions of tourism impact could exist in a case where a pine wood has been destroyed by droppings under nest colonies (Island of Morbihan, France). Destruction of the structure of salt pans has been observed in Brittany, involving an increase in human work (Clergeau et al., 2005).

Environmental Impact

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Impact on habitats

The trampling of hundreds of ibises in marshes where they feed or on the soil of islands where they breed can affect the aquatic functioning or the development of vegetation. However, the more important effect is that of the layer of droppings under colony sites, which destroys trees, shrubs and grasses. After the breeding season, some islands show no vegetation for several months.

Impact on biodiversity

Predation on large numbers of some aquatic insects such as dragonfly larvae and amphibians such as frogs is sometimes noted (Clergeau et al., 2010b) and could impact prey populations. The main concern involves the predation on eggs and young of several protected colonies of terns and herons in France (see Yésou and Clergeau, 2005) as has been observed in the native range (Williams and Ward, 2006). In western France, predation has been observed on Sandwich Terns Sterna sandvicensis, the ibises pushing the adults out of their nests and then taking the eggs. Colonies of some tens of incubating pairs of Black Terns Chlidonias niger and Whiskered Terns C. hybrida (also known as C. hybridus) have been destroyed on at least four occasions. Predation has also been reported on single nests of both the Common Tern S. hirundo and the Mallard Anas platyrhynchos, and occasionally on young Black Terns and Lapwings Vanellus vanellus (Clergeau et al., 2005). Reeber (2010) reports predation on V. vanellus and the Herring Gull, Larus argentatus.

In southern France, T. aethiopicus has been observed predating nests of Cattle Egrets Bubulcus ibis. Also, as its numbers increased, it began to compete for nest sites with Cattle Egrets and Little Egrets Egretta garzetta, and pushed many pairs of both species out of the colony (Kayser et al. 2005).

Threatened Species

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Threatened Species	Conservation Status	Where Threatened	Mechanism	References
Bubulcus ibis (cattle egret)	No Details	France	Predation	Yésou and Clergeau (2005)
Chlidonias hybridus	LC (IUCN red list: Least concern)	France	Predation	Yésou and Clergeau (2005)
Chlidonias niger	National list(s)	France	Predation	Yésou and Clergeau (2005)
Sterna sandvicensis	No details	France	Predation	Yésou and Clergeau (2005)

Social Impact

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As shown in T. molucca (Epstein et al., 2007), T. aethiopicus is suspected of spreading disease since it frequently forages in rubbish dumps and slurry pits. Studies of different pathogens are in progress at the Veterinary School of Nantes, France.

Risk and Impact Factors

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Invasiveness

Invasive in its native range
Proved invasive outside its native range
Has a broad native range
Abundant in its native range
Highly adaptable to different environments
Is a habitat generalist
Capable of securing and ingesting a wide range of food
Highly mobile locally
Benefits from human association (i.e. it is a human commensal)
Long lived
Has high reproductive potential
Gregarious

Impact outcomes

Conflict
Damaged ecosystem services
Ecosystem change/ habitat alteration
Infrastructure damage
Reduced native biodiversity
Threat to/ loss of endangered species
Threat to/ loss of native species

Impact mechanisms

Predation
Trampling

Likelihood of entry/control

Highly likely to be transported internationally deliberately
Difficult/costly to control

Uses

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Social benefit

T. aethiopicus was introduced to zoos for recreational reasons. It is known for its good acceptance of captivity and good breeding success there.

Uses List

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General

Botanical garden/zoo

Detection and Inspection

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In France, T. aethiopicus is monitored by a census conducted by different bird associations and co-ordinated by P. Yésou of the Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage (ONCFS).

Similarities to Other Species/Conditions

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Threskiornis melanocephalus (Asian race) has primaries and secondaries tipped grey and the neck is largely white. Threskiornis molucca (Australian race) has primaries and secondaries tipped black and the neck is also white. These two birds have extensive feathering up the neck, with ornamental plumes on the foreneck (Hoyo et al., 1992; Reeber, 2005).

Prevention and Control

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Due to the variable regulations around (de)registration of pesticides, your national list of registered pesticides or relevant authority should be consulted to determine which products are legally allowed for use in your country when considering chemical control. Pesticides should always be used in a lawful manner, consistent with the product's label.

In several cases (e.g. Portugal and Belgium) the first breeding of T. aethiopicus was not followed by establishment of a feral population. Management of the species (limitation or eradication attempts) has been conducted in Spain and France.

Prevention

The only method used to prevent introduction is keeping the birds in aviaries. Some zoos have chosen to stop presentation of free birds, but others have not.

Eradication

Eradication programmes have been conducted by the ONCFS (Office National de la Chasse et de la Faune Sauvage), mandated by the French government. Nature wardens shoot birds with guns in some monospecific colonies or on rubbish dumps. Eradication has nearly been achieved on the Mediterranean coast (13 individuals remaining in spring 2009) and is in progress in western France (about half of the population was culled in 2008).

Decisions about management of T. aethiopicus have been especially hard. It is a large, easily recognizable, white, and nice-looking species, and benefits from a relatively positive appreciation from tourists and some naturalists. The duration of its presence in Western France (over 20 years) has favoured this, and lack of consensus meant that it took several years for the decision to be made to eradicate it.

In Spain, the authorities rapidly gave authorisation to shoot the ten (tagged) ibises that arrived in Coto Doñana (Andalucia) from France.

References

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Brown LH; Urban EK; Newman K, 1982. The birds of Africa, Vol 1. London, UK: Academic Press.

Clark RA, 1979. The food of the sacred ibis at Pretoria, Transvaal. Ostrich, 50:104-111.

Clergeau P; Fourcy D; Reeber S; Yésou P, 2010. New but nice? Do alien sacred ibises Threskiornis aethiopicus stabilize nesting colonies of native spoonbills Platalea leucorodia at Grand-Lieu Lake, France? Oryx, 44(4):533-538. http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayJournal?jid=ORX

Clergeau P; Reeber S; Bastian S; Yésou P, 2010. Diet of the Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus introduced in metropolitan France: a generalist or specialist species? (Le profil alimentaire de l'ibis sacré Threskiornis aethiopicus introduit en France métropolitaine: espèce généraliste ou spécialiste?) Revue d'Écologie (la Terre et la Vie), 65:331-342.

Clergeau P; Yésou P, 2006. Behavioural flexibility and numerous potential sources of introduction for the sacred ibis: causes of concern in Western Europe? Biological Invasions, 8:1381-1388.

Clergeau P; Yésou P; Chadenas C, 2005. Ibis sacré Threskiornis aethiopicus, état actuel et impacts potentiels des populations introduites en France métropolitaine. Rennes - Nantes, France: INRA-ONCFS.

Epstein JH; McKee J; Shaw P; Hicks V; Micalizzi G; Daszak P; Kilpatrick AM; Kaufman G, 2007. The Australian White ibis Threskiornis molucca as a reservoir of zoonotic and livestock pathogens. Ecohealth, 3:290-298.

Hancock JA; Kushlan JA; Kahl MP, 1992. Storks, ibises and spoonbills of the world. London, UK: Academic Press.

Harrison JA; Allan DG; Underhill LG; Herremans M; Tree AJ; Parker V; Brow CJ, 1997. The atlas of southern African birds. Vol 1. Johannesburg, South Africa: BirdLife South Africa.

Herring G; Call EM; Johnston MD, 2006. A non-indigenous wading bird breeding in the Florida Everglades: the sacred ibis. Florida Field Naturalist, 34:4-8.

Herring G; Gawlik DE, 2008. Potential for successful population establishment of the non-indigenous sacred ibis in the Florida Everglades. Biological Invasions, 10:969-976.

Hoyo J del; Elliott A; Sargatal J, 1992. Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol 1. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions.

Juana E de, 2006. Observations of rare birds in Spain, 2004. (Observaciones de aves raras en España, 2004.) Ardeola, 53:163-190.

Kayser Y; Clément D; Gauthier-Clerc M, 2005. The sacred ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus on the French Mediterranean littoral: impact on the avifauna. (L'Ibis sacré Threskiornis aethiopicus sur le littoral méditerranéen français: impact sur l'avifaune.) Ornithos, 12(2):84-86.

Lever C, 2005. Naturalised birds of the world. London, UK: T & AD Poyser.

Marion L; Marion P, 1994. [English title not available]. (Première installation spontanée d'une colonie d'ibis sacré, Threskiornis aethiopicus, au lac de Grand-lieu. Données préliminaires sur la production en jeunes et sur le régime alimentaire.) Alauda, 62:275-280.

Ottens G, 2006. Sacred Ibises in the Netherlands. Birding World, 19:84.

Reeber S, 2005. The pitfalls of identification: the sacred ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus. (Les pièges de l'identification: L'ibis sacré Threskiornis aethiopicus.) Ornithos, 12(2):78-80.

Reeber S, 2010. [English title not available]. (Note de synthèse sur l'Ibis sacré au lac de Grand Lieu.) Unpaginated. [Rapport SPN, janvier 2010.]

Urban EK, 1974. Breeding of sacred ibis at lake Shala, Ethiopia. Ibis, 116(3):265-277.

Vaslin M, 2005. Predation of the sacred ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus on colonies of terns. (Prédation de l'Ibis sacré Threskiornis aethiopicus sur des colonies de sternes et de guifettes.) Ornithos, 12(2):106-109.

Williams AJ; Ward VL, 2006. Sacred ibis and gray heron predation of cape cormorant eggs and chicks; and a review of ciconiiform birds as seabird predators. Waterbirds, 29:321-327.

Yésou P; Calbelguen J; Potiron JL, 2006. Some aspects of the reproduction of the sacred ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus in the Loire estuary. (Quelques aspects de la reproduction de l'Ibis sacré Threskiornis aethiopicus dans l'estuaire de la Loire.) Alauda, 74:421-427.

Yésou P; Clergeau P, 2005. Sacred Ibis: a new invasive species in Europe. Birding World, 18:517-526.

Distribution References

Anon, 1992. Handbook of the birds of the world. Vol. 1. [ed. by Hoyo J del, Elliott A, Sargatal J]. Barcelona, Spain: Lynx Edicions.

CABI, Undated. Compendium record. Wallingford, UK: CABI

CABI, Undated a. CABI Compendium: Status inferred from regional distribution. Wallingford, UK: CABI

CABI, Undated b. CABI Compendium: Status as determined by CABI editor. Wallingford, UK: CABI

Clergeau P, Yésou P, 2006. Behavioural flexibility and numerous potential sources of introduction for the sacred ibis: causes of concern in Western Europe? Biological Invasions. 1381-1388.

Herring G, Call E M, Johnston M D, 2006. A non-indigenous wading bird breeding in the Florida Everglades: the sacred ibis. Florida Field Naturalist. 4-8.

Herring G, Gawlik D E, 2008. Potential for successful population establishment of the non-indigenous sacred ibis in the Florida Everglades. Biological Invasions. 969-976.

Juana E de, 2006. Observations of rare birds in Spain, 2004. (Observaciones de aves raras en España, 2004.). Ardeola. 163-190.

Lever C, 2005. Naturalised birds of the world. London, UK: T & AD Poyser.

Ottens G, 2006. Sacred Ibises in the Netherlands. Birding World. 84.

Seebens H, Blackburn T M, Dyer E E, Genovesi P, Hulme P E, Jeschke J M, Pagad S, Pyšek P, Winter M, Arianoutsou M, Bacher S, Blasius B, Brundu G, Capinha C, Celesti-Grapow L, Dawson W, Dullinger S, Fuentes N, Jäger H, Kartesz J, Kenis M, Kreft H, Kühn I, Lenzner B, Liebhold A, Mosena A (et al), 2017. No saturation in the accumulation of alien species worldwide. Nature Communications. 8 (2), 14435. http://www.nature.com/articles/ncomms14435

Links to Websites

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Website	URL	Comment
DAISIE Delivering Alien Invasive Species Inventories for Europe	http://www.europe-aliens.org/index.jsp
French report on ibis (Clergeau et al., 2005)	http://www.rennes.inra.fr/scribe/documents/ibis_v2.pdf
GB Non-native Species Information Portal	https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/nonnativespecies/factsheet/index.cfm
Les espèces invasives en Bretagne	http://www.bretagne-environnement.org/especes-invasives/

Organizations

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Germany: African-Eurasian Waterbird Agreement (AEWA), Hermann-Ehlers-Str. 10, 53113 Bonn, http://www.unep-aewa.org/

Contributors

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14/07/09 Original text by:

Philippe Clergeau, Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, Dept. Ecol. & Gestion de la Biodiversité, UMR 5173, 55 rue Buffon - CP 51, 75005 Paris, France

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Threskiornis aethiopicus (sacred ibis)

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