Have you spotted any of these on Fairview Estates yet?
The Southern Bald Ibis is large and is a shiny, dark blue-black colour. It has a red face and head without feathers and wrinkled skin, along with a long, curved red beak.
It is mostly found across high altitude grasslands but can also be found in lower altitudes, open grasslands, on farms where there’s a lot of rain and rugged terrain. They don’t like places with a lot of trees or bushes around. These were recently captured on Fairview farm by Photographer, Luke Allen, @luke_bird_whisperer.
They travel in groups of up to 100 and feed and roost in large groups. They forage for food in many different spots like grassy fields, farm fields, croplands, and even irrigated fields. Favoured foraging habitat includes short, dense grass, including heavily grazed, recently burnt, and mowed grass. They feed on insects, small reptiles, rodents, and small birds.
They breed colonially on and among rocks and on cliffs, preferably above water with rare usage of trees being used. Their nests are made mainly of grass and sticks and they lay 1 to 3 eggs at a time, which are incubated for between 26 to 32 days before hatching. The breeding season is August – December with the time of breeding often correlating to how much grassland has been burnt. The incubating birds move around and turn the egg regularly for three days before they’re ready to hatch. Once hatched, the chicks spend the first 7 to 10 days feeding from their parents via regurgitation. After 35 days, the young leave the nest to wander and then after around 40-50 days, the chicks can fly, but still spend most of their time around the nest.
They are likely to live between 10 to 15 years in the wild. One of the biggest decline of the species is human activity disturbing where these animals breed and the deterioration of their living spaces. Most of the breeding sites are found on privately owned land. Only a small minority of these breeding pairs are found on state forest land or nature reserves where they are guaranteed protection. Local hunting is also a threat to their lives.
This bird is often referred to as an “old man” due to its bald and wrinkly appearance. Next time you are walking or driving around the open grasslands at Fairview, look out for these fascinating birds and see if you agree with the nickname.
