The Crested Ibis is an East Asian ibis with white plumage, a bare red face, and a shaggy crest; it does not live in the wild in the United States. It was thought extinct in China until a tiny wild population was rediscovered there in 1981, and careful breeding has since brought it back, with reintroductions on Sado Island in Japan and in South Korea.
Appearance
- Appearance
- About 28–31 in (70–80 cm) long, with a wingspan of about 51 in (130 cm), a bare red face, a shaggy crest on the back of the head, red legs, and a long, down-curved black bill with a red tip.
- Seasonal forms
- In winter it is white with a salmon-pink wash on the wings and tail. In the breeding season it turns pale gray on the head, back, and breast by rubbing a dark powder from its neck onto its feathers.
Where it lives
- Typical habitats
- Rice paddies
- Marshes
- Wooded hills near water
- Range
- Native to East Asia: China, the Korean Peninsula, the Russian Far East, and Japan. Today wild birds live mainly in China, plus reintroduced flocks on Sado Island, Japan, and around Changnyeong, South Korea.
- Preferred conditions
- It needs shallow water, mud, or rice fields for feeding and tall trees near water for nesting.
Behavior
- Diet
- Loaches and other small fish, frogs, crabs, shrimp, snails, insects, and earthworms, found by probing mud with its curved bill.
Life cycle
- Breeding season
- Eggs are laid from March to May in Korea and from about April in Japan.
- Nest
- A stick nest high in a tall tree near water.
- Clutch size
- 2–5 eggs, usually 3; bluish gray with brown spots
- Incubation
- 28–30 days, shared by both parents.
- Lifespan
- Can live more than 17 years in captivity.
Conservation
- IUCN Red List
- ENEndangeredVery high risk of extinction in the wild
- Status
- It is listed on Appendix I, which bans international commercial trade.
Culture and stories
- Culture and stories
- Its scientific name, Nipponia nippon, comes from "Nippon," the Japanese name for Japan.
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