Réunion Sacred Ibis

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Réunion Sacred Ibis
Conservation status
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family: Threskiornithidae
Genus: Threskiornis
Species: †T. solitarius
Binomial name
†Threskiornis solitarius
Sélys, 1848
Synonyms

Raphus solitarius
Victoriornis imperialis
Borbonibis latipes

The Réunion Sacred Ibis or Réunion Flightless Ibis (see below) (Threskiornis solitarius), is an extinct bird species that was native to the island of Réunion. It is probably the same bird discovered by Portuguese sailors there in 1613 and until recently assumed by biologists to be a member of the solitaire family and called the "Réunion Solitaire" (Raphus solitarius), classified as a relative of the Dodo.

Painting of an albino dodo, previously mislabeled as "Raphus solitarius".
Painting of an albino dodo, previously mislabeled as "Raphus solitarius".

That bird was at various times classified as Victoriornis imperialis (the "Réunion Solitaire" or "White Dodo" of descriptions and paintings - the latter obviously show an albino dodo from Mauritius) and Borbonibis latipes (from the first ibis bones found, before a connection to the solitaire reports had been made). The epithet solitarius derives from the Raphus solitarius description of Baron Edmund de Sélys-Longchamps in 1848, but the species' existence was not confirmed until the discovery of bones on Réunion in the late 20th century. The discovery that it actually was an ibis perfectly fits what the early travellers said about its plumage and habits. The confusion can be explained by the fact that solitaire was used by the writers of the descriptions as a descriptive term regarding to a birds' solitary habits, which the ibis happened to share with the Rodrigues Solitaire, but was interpreted by the scientists as an indication of a taxonomic relationship.

The Réunion Sacred Ibis lived solitarily in deep forests near freshwater, where it fed on invertebrates like worms and crustaceans which it caught or dug out of the soil with its long beak. If threatened, it tried to get away mainly by running, using its wings for assistance and to glide short distances, especially downhill.
It had a white plumage, with black wingtips and tail, and a dark, naked head. Bill and legs were long, the former slim and slightly downcurved. All in all, it looked much like a small Sacred Ibis with short wings.

The last account of the "Réunion Solitaire" was recorded in 1705, indicating that the species probably became extinct sometime early in that century.

The vernacular name "Réunion Flightless Ibis" is misleading, since travellers' reports as well as bone measurements indicate that it was well on its way to flightlessness, but could still fly some distance after a running take-off.

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