Species Fact Profile: Waldrapp Ibis (Geronticus eremita)

                                                 Waldrapp (Northern Bald) Ibis

                                               Geronticus eremita (Linnaeus, 1758)

Range: Historically ranged around the Mediterranean in North Africa, the Middle East, and Europe as far north as Germany.  Currently limited to two disjointed populations: a western population in Morocco and an eastern one in Turkey and Syria (possibly extinct due to recent geopolitical turmoil) which migrates to Ethiopia

Habitat: : Cliff Faces, Arid Grasslands, Wetlands, Scrub

Diet: Small animals, both vertebrates (fish, amphibians, lizards, snakes, small rodents) and invertebrates (scorpions, earthworms, snails, and insects, especially beetles), carrion, some plant matter, such as berries and duckweed

Social Grouping: Colonial

Reproduction: Monogamous, may be for life.  Breeding season begins in February, with eggs laid in March or April.  2-4 eggs are laid per clutch.  The freshly laid egg is pale blue, but gradually turns a dark brown with spotting.   Nest usually a platform of dried leaves and twigs, sometimes held together with mud, lined with grasses.  Both parents defend the nest for the 20-25 day incubation period, taking turns sitting.  After the chicks hatch, the parents take turns foraging and bringing back food for the chicks.  The chicks fledge at 40-50 days but become truly independent at 2-4 months old.  Sexual maturity for both sexes is at 3-5 years old

Lifespan: 10-15 Years (up to 40 Years)

      Conservation Status: IUCN Critically Endangered, CITES Appendix I, USFWS Endangered 

• Body length is 70-80 centimeters, with males being slightly larger than the females.  Wingspan is 1.2-1.4 meters, weight 0.8-1.4 kilograms. 
• Both sexes look alike.  The plumage is black with bronze, green, and purple iridescence, with a wispy ruff around the neck (which covers and camouflages the head when the bird is sleeping).  The head, neck, and throat are bald and a dull red color.  The slightly curved beak is 13-13.5 centimeters long.  The bill and legs are red.  Chicks are pale brown, juveniles resemble adults but with darker heads and paler beaks.
• Breeding colonies form on rock cliff, usually near water; they have also utilized castles and other artificial structures.   Females initially select the males based on the nest that he builds her.  They find their mate through calling to one another (males have a deeper voice than females).
• Migrate seasonally, with migration time being determined by the breeding season.  Faithful to nesting and feeding sites.  Outside of migration, maintain a rough home range of about 3-3.5 square kilometers, with a most-often used core area of 1 square kilometer.  Young birds wander more than adults
• Feeding is done mostly by probing in soft substrate with the long bill
• Chicks and eggs may be preyed upon by brown-necked ravens and Egyptian vultures
• The eastern and western populations are morphologically (western birds have slightly longer bills than eastern birds), ecologically, and genetically distinct, though they are not classified as separate subspecies at this time
• Along with Cape (southern bald) ibis, one of two species in the genus Geronticus.  Genus name from the Greek for “Old Man,” referring to the bald head.  The species name is from the Latin for “Hermit” or “Desert” referring to the habitat.  “Waldrapp” is from the German for “Forest Raven”
• Cause of decline is unclear, but may involve combination of hunting, loss of foraging habitat/disturbance of nesting sites, and poisoning through pesticide use (especially DDT).  Documented cases of electrocution on power lines.
• Conservationists have erected artificial nesting platforms to facilitate breeding in the wild, make up for the loss of natural nesting sites.  The birds will also nest on buildings
• The population declined in Turkey to functional extinction.  A captive breeding program was established using birds from the Moroccan population for use in reintroduction programs.  Reintroduced populations have been established in Austria, Spain, with experimental populations in other countries.  Some of these populations are hand-raised then led by humans on migrations to reestablish migratory behavior.  This was the first species to be reintroduced to the wild by the Jersey Zoo/Durrell Wildlife Trust
• Together with the sacred ibis, it was a symbol of the Ancient Egyptian god Thoth.  The species is also considered a possible source of inspiration for the Stymphalian Birds fought by Hercules
• During the Middle Ages their chicks were considered a delicacy by the nobility, though they received some formal legal protection as far back as the 1500s.
• First described in Western science in 1555 by Conrad Gesner in his Historiae animalium, which features a woodcut of this species.  Description was based on the now-extinct Swiss population
• Part of the reason that the species persisted for centuries in the Middle East after it was driven to extinction in Europe may have been religious protection.  Migrating ibises were believed to guide pilgrims on their hajj to Mecca, and a special festival was held annually in Turkey to celebrate their return from Arabia.  Another local legend says that they were one of the first birds released from the Ark by Noah