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Straw-necked Ibis

Threskiornis spinicollis

Description:

The Straw-necked Ibis is a large waterbird with a naked black head, long downcurved black bill and yellow throat plumes. It has a glossy blue-black back, with metallic purple, green and bronze sheen, a white nape and sides of neck and white underparts. Its preference for grassland insects such as grasshoppers and locusts have earnt it the name of Farmer's Friend.

Habitat:

Parkland

Notes:

Feeding: The Straw-necked Ibis feeds mainly on terrestrial invertebrates, especially grasshoppers and locusts. It will also take frogs, small reptiles and mammals. It forages by probing or takes prey from the surface of water bodies. It is rarely an opportunistic scavenger, unlike the Australian White Ibis. Breeding: The Straw-necked Ibis forms large breeding colonies, often with Australian White Ibises. The low nests are large trampled platforms of reeds, rushes and sticks over water, often blending together to form one continuous platform, and are re-used over many years. Both sexes build nests, incubate eggs and feed the young.

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5 Comments

MacChristiansen
MacChristiansen 8 years ago

Thanks Neil

James McNair
James McNair 8 years ago

Gorgeous colors

CalebSteindel
CalebSteindel 8 years ago

brilliant!

alicelongmartin
alicelongmartin 8 years ago

Cool!

Neil Ross
Neil Ross 8 years ago

Great spotting, Mac. I was amazed the first time I saw the colourful sheen on the feathers. People say they're ugly birds, but I quite disagree. In their own way they're quite beautiful, particularly in rainbow mode.

MacChristiansen
Spotted by
MacChristiansen

Cairns, Queensland, Australia

Spotted on May 29, 2015
Submitted on Jun 29, 2015

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