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5

Australian White Ibis

(Threskiornis molucca)
Alternate name(s): "Black-necked Ibis", "Sickle-bird"; formerly "Sacred Ibis"
Size: 65-75 cm
Weight: 1.7-2.5 kg (male), 1.4-1.9 kg (female)
Description     Classification     Distribution     Sightings     Photos     Breeding     Nest     Eggs     Behaviour     Food     Call/s

Physical description

Click here for a physical description

Taxonomy, classification

See Australian White Ibis at Wikipedia .

Click here for classification information

Range, habitat, finding this species

Click here for information on habitat and range

Sightings

Click here for sighting information

Photos

ADULT

Sex unknown

BREEDING

Full-frontal view of an Australian White Ibis in breeding plumage; note white plumes
(photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[The Spit, Gold Coast, QLD, January 2020]

Close-up lateral portrait of an Australian White Ibis in breeding plumage; note the plumes on the upper chest
(photo courtesy of J. Ross-Taylor)
[Gold Coast, QLD, June 2014]

Lateral view of an Australian White Ibis in breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Moggill Regional Park, near Anstead, QLD, April 2017]

Dorsal view of an Australian White Ibis in breeding plumage; note the filamentary structure of the plumes
(photo courtesy of R. Druce)
[Goondiwindi, QLD, February 2013]

Lateral view of an Australian White Ibis on the point of take-off; the extensive, bright pinkish-red skin on the underwing may indicate that the bird is ready for breeding (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, May 2023]

NON-BREEDING

Frontal view of an Australian White Ibis in non-breeding plumage shaking dry its feathers (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gold Coast, QLD, May 2017]

Near-frontal view of an Australian White Ibis in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Windeyer)
[Taronga Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo, NSW, April 2016]

Lateral view of an Australian White Ibis in non-breeding plumage (photo courtesy of M. Windeyer)
[Port Fairy, VIC, April 2022]

Small colony of Australian White Ibises on a bank of Narrabri Lake, together with two Silver Gulls
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, May 2006]

Closer look at a flock of Australian White Ibises
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, September 2007]

A whole array of aquatic birds hunting/foraging in O'Brien's Creek at Narrabri, NSW: three White-necked Herons, two Australian White Ibises in non-breeding plumage, two Great Egrets, one Purple Swamphen, one Dusky Moorhen and two Pacific Black Ducks
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, September 2011]

Near-frontal/ventral view of an Australian White Ibis in flight
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, November 2011]

Lateral view of an Australian White Ibis in flight
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, July 2010]

Flock of Australian White Ibises in flight, with the characteristic black tips of the primaries clearly visible
[Near Narrabri, NSW, September 2008]

IMMATURE/JUVENILE

Near-lateral/ventral view of a juvenile Australian White Ibis (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, March 2018]

Lateral view of a juvenile Australian White Ibis; note the mottled grey nape of the neck
[Narrabri, NSW, January 2009]

Close-up lateral/ventral view of a juvenile Australian White Ibis (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Sandy Camp Wetlands, Brisbane, QLD, March 2018]

Juvenile Australian White Ibis waiting in a tree to be fed; when they are that young they are actually still white
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, January 2009]

Lateral/ventral view of a juvenile Australian White Ibis
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, March 2012]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a juvenile Australian White Ibis - note that this bird not only has a dusky head, but also its entire back is dusky (photo courtesy of C. Pears)
[Lake Herdsman, Perth, WA, May 2023]

Close-up near-dorsal view of a juvenile Australian White Ibis looking sideways
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, January 2022]

Dorsal view of a juvenile Australian White Ibis looking sideways
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, February 2012]

Lateral view of a juvenile Australian White Ibis in flight
[Pilliga Wetlands Walk, NSW, November 2019]

Near-dorsal/ventral view of a juvenile Australian White Ibis in flight
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, March 2012]

Here a dependent juvenile Australian White Ibis being fed
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, December 2010]

Twitcher's tip

Here an example why one should never take things for granted while bird-watching: In October 2011 three birds flew over our property. The photo below shows two of them - identification as Australian White Ibis is easy.

Australian White Ibis seen from underneath
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2011]

A second photo shows the remaining third bird and only closer inspection later, on the computer, showed that it had slightly different features...

The third bird turned out to be an "interloper"...
[Eulah Creek, NSW, October 2011]

Breeding information

Breeding season: Aug - Dec Eggs: 2 - 5 Incubation period: 20 - 23 days Fledging age: ca. 49 days

The breeding season depends significantly on geographical latitude. In the tropical north Australian White Ibises breed Feb - May. Given the right conditions, Australian White Ibises can breed any time of the year. They breed in tightly packed colonies, together with other aquatic birds.

Nest

"bungobittah", "lar", "malunna", "jindi" [bundjalung] = nest [Aboriginal]

Type: Basket Material: Sticks, lined with leaves Height above ground: 0 - 20 m

Australian White Ibises can nest in trees or just above water level, e.g. on lignum. They often nest in loose colonies, together with other aquatic species.

Australian White Ibises are the number 1 cause of bird strikes around airports, which is the reason why breeding colonies as shown below are often destroyed or at least reduced if found near major airports.

Close-up view of an Australian White Ibis on its nest (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gatton, QLD, July 2017]

Small Australian White Ibis colony in a near-coastal habitat (photo courtesy of A. Ross-Taylor)
[Carrara, Gold Coast, QLD, November 2014]

Australian White Ibises on a communal nest platform shared by two pairs; the pair on the left has two small chicks rather late in the season; one of the adults is providing shade for the chicks
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, January 2022]

Australian White Ibis nests with mature chicks in them (photo courtesy of M. Eaton)
[Gatton, QLD, December 2017]

After seeing Australian White Ibises nesting in trees for many years, here the first nest in reeds - this indicates that the birds expect the lake not to dry up during the nesting season
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, August 2012]

Close-up look at an Australian White Ibis nest
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, November 2017]

Australian White Ibis carrying nesting material
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, December 2012]

Eggs

"boyanga", "booyanga", "derinya", "dirandil", "koomura", "mirk", "ngampu", "nooluk", "pateena", "pum-pum" = Egg; "dirundirri" = eggs [Aboriginal]; "gawu" = eggs [gamilaraay]

Size: 65 x 45 mm Colour: Creamy Shape: Elliptical

Behaviour

Social behaviour: Communal Mobility: Sedentary/dispersive Elementary unit: Flock

It comes as a bit of a surprise that, although spending much of their life in water, aquatic bird species such as Australian White Ibises do need to bathe regularly to keep their plumage clean (photo courtesy of J. Boettcher, FNQ Nature Tours)
[Esplanade, Cairns, QLD, August 2020]

Small group of Australian White Ibises seen in a riverine mudflat
[Brewarrina, NSW, September 2012]

Food, Diet

Adults: Small animals, frogs, leftovers Dependents: As adults Water intake: ?

Ibises feed on small animals that they pull out of mud or soft soil. Australian White Ibises are also known to scavenge; they are often seen around rubbish tips.

Additional information

There is a separate page describing a dependent Australian White Ibis being fed.

Australian White Ibis gobbling up what looks like a cicada (photo courtesy of R. Druce)
[Goondiwindi, QLD, February 2013]

Immature Australian White Ibis foraging through a mangrove mudflat
[Urunga board walk, Urunga Heads, NSW, February 2012]

Part of a large flock of Australian White Ibises scavenging at the local rubbish tip
[Narrabri, NSW, February 2012]

Sometimes Australian White Ibises can be seen foraging on grassland near water, such as e.g. freshwater lakes, in a manner that is more typical of Straw-necked Ibises
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, February 2013]

Australian White Ibis with an enormously full crop
[Narrabri Lake, NSW, October 2016]

Call(s)/Song

For this species we have recorded the following call(s)/song. The interpretation of their meaning is our own; comments and suggestions for improvement are welcome.

auwibis_20201209.m4a (NW NSW) Contact calls(?) (Q&A) © MD
auwibis_20180516_2.m4a (NW NSW) Warning calls(?) (Q&A) © MD
auwibis_20220701.m4a (NW NSW) Warning call © MD
auwibis_20161104.mp3 (NW NSW) Warning calls (in-flight; spotted observer) © MD
auwibis_20180516_4.m4a (NW NSW) Upset/departure © MD
auwibis_pb_20200807.m4a (Top End, NT) Upset/departure © PB
auwibis_20180516.m4a (NW NSW) Departure © MD
auwibis_20201209_2.m4a (NW NSW) Departure © MD
auwibis_20171124.m4a (NW NSW) Upset © MD
auwibis_20171124_2.m4a (NW NSW) Upset/squabbling © MD
auwibis_20171124_4.m4a (NW NSW) ? © MD
auwibis_20150327.m4a (NE NSW) ? (in-flight) © MD

We have also been able to record the wing beats of Australian White Ibises.

auwibis_20210428_2.m4a (NW NSW) Rising from the ground into a tree © MD
auwibis_20210428.m4a (NW NSW) Rising from the ground into a tree + warning calls © MD

More Australian White Ibis sound recordings are available at xeno-canto.org .

These pages are largely based on our own observations and those of our contributors. The structure of these bird pages is explained HERE. For more salient facts on any bird species please refer to a field guide.

Would you like to contribute photos or sound recordings to this site?
If interested, please CLICK HERE. Credits to contributors are given HERE.