Southern Bald Ibis

The Southern Bald Ibis (Geronticus calvus) is a large bird found in open grassland or semi-desert in the mountains of southern Africa.

This large, glossy, blue-black ibis has an unfeathered red face and head, and a long, decurved red bill. It breeds colonially on and amongst rocks and on cliffs, laying 2-3 eggs which are incubated for 21 days before hatching. It feeds on insects, small reptiles, rodents and small birds.

The ibises are gregarious long-legged wading birds with long down-curved bills; they form one subfamily of the Threskiornithidae, the other subfamily being the spoonbills.^[1] The two Geronticus species differ from other ibises in that they have unfeathered faces and heads, breed on cliffs rather than in trees, and prefer arid habitats to the wetlands used by their relatives.^[2][3]

References

• BirdLife International (2008). Geronticus calvus. In: IUCN 2008. IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Downloaded on 05 November 2008. Database entry includes a range map and justification for why this species is vulnerable.
• del Hoyo, J.; Elliot, A.; Sargatal, J. (editors) (1992). Handbook of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Ostrich to Ducks. Barcelona: Lynx Edicions. ISBN 8487334091. 
• Sinclair, Ian; Hockey, Phil; Tarboton, Warwick (2002). SASOL Birds of Southern Africa. Cape Town: Struik. ISBN 1868727211. 
• Snow, David; Perrins, Christopher M (editors) (1998). The Birds of the Western Palearctic concise edition (2 volumes). Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 019854099X. 

Media

External links

• BirdLife Species Factsheet.