Birds of Singapore
by the Bird Society of Singapore
Threskiornis melanocephalus
Family: Ibises and Spoonbills · Status: Vagrant · Size: 65–76 cm · Conservation: Least Concern
Breeds from the Indian subcontinent eastward into Southeast Asia, reaching Cambodia and southern Vietnam. Rare in Java and Sumatra. Disperses to southern China, Myanmar, Thailand, Sumatra, and the Philippines during the non-breeding season.
All white ibis with contrasting black head and bill. Immature has a blackish feathered head and neck with a whitish foreneck, contrasting with the bare black head of adults. Two similar ibises - African Sacred Ibis and Australian Ibis - may appear as escapees. African Sacred Ibis has black tips to secondaries and tertials and more extensive black tips to primaries. Australian Ibis has a more slender bill appearing thinner at the tip and more extensive black primary tips.
Marshes, swamps, wet grasslands, and the margins of rivers and lakes. Occasionally intertidal mudflats and mangroves.
Feeds in flocks ranging from a dozen to many birds, working the bill through mud or shallow water; on occasion the whole head and neck go under the water surface.