Southern Bald Ibis

The southern bald ibis is a bird that feeds and roosts in large groups. They travel in groups of up to 100 individuals to find suitable foraging areas. As insectivores, their diet is composed mainly of insects and other small invertebrates found in burnt grasslands. The species live on cliff edges where they build their nests and for the most part, breed in colonies. They do little vocalizing besides occasional gobbling sounds.

The southern bald ibis is a species with a very restricted homerange. It is estimated that there are only 4 600 breeding birds of this species in the South African region. The species is confined to the eastern regions of South Africa and are restricted to the highland and mountainous regions. Its range extends from the highlands of Lesotho extending into Swaziland. The birds may migrate short distances within their designated home ranges. These birds are cliff-nesters and breed in the open areas of mountain faces, as well as river gorges and sometimes around waterfalls. Their breeding habitat is composed mainly of mountainous grasslands that range in altitude from 1 200 to 2 000 meters above sea level. The grassland areas are labeled as ‘sour’ due to the low nutritional value of the foliage in late summer and early autumn due to the previous grazing of mammals.

The southern bald ibis is currently listed as vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. However, there is no immediate threat of the species going extinct. The bird is also listed in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), signifying that the trade of this species is substantially regulated. One of the greatest causes in the decline of this species is human disturbance at their breeding sites and the degradation of their habitat. Most of the breeding sites occur on privately owned land, whereas only a small minority of breeding pairs are located on nature reserves or state forest land, which are the only areas where they are guaranteed protection. Therefore, a large portion of the population is dependent on the efforts and contributions of private landowners. Furthermore, another threat is that the adult birds may be captured in order to collect the eggs and nestlings for food or medicine in some African tribal practices. The hunting of these birds has also been popular in farming populations to supplement their meat supplies. Local hunting continues to be a threat today.