Northern Bald Ibis



         


Northern Bald Ibis
Status: Critical
Scientific classification
Kingdom:Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class:Aves
Order: Ciconiiformes
Family:Threskiornithidae
Genus: Geronticus
Species: eremita
Binomial name
Geronticus eremita
(Linnaeus, 1758)

The Northern Bald Ibis or Waldrapp, Geronticus eremita, is a species of ibis.

This is a large glossy black ibis, with a red face, red "bald" head and red bill. It breeds colonially on cliffs in rocky deserts in Africa north of the Sahara. Its food is insects and other small creatures.

This species is officially critically endangered, with an estimated population of 220. It retains only a foothold in Morocco, Turkey and Syria. There is a programme ongoing to reintroduce the species into the wild in Austria and Italy.

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