Two Northern Bald Ibises in Birecik Sanliurfa Urfa south eastern Turkey
Hermit Ibis, Waldrapp, Geronticus Eremita ("kelaynak" in Turkish): This is a large glossy black ibis, 70-80 cm long with a 120-135 cm wingspan. It has an unfeathered red face and head and a long decurved red bill. It breeds colonially on cliffs in rocky deserts in the Middle East and Africa north of the Sahara, laying 2-3 eggs. Its food is insects and other small creatures. This species is now officially critically endangered, with an estimated population in of 420 in the wild[1] and about 1500 in captivity (2004). It retains only a foothold in Morocco, Turkey and Syria. The Turkish population was centred near the small town of Birecik in south-eastern Turkey. During the first half of the twentieth century, the Birecik colony maintained a relatively stable population of about 500 breeding pairs. The first accurate count, in 1953, showed 1300 birds, including young. By the 1970s the population had drastically declined and became the subject of a captive breeding program established in 1976. This program was basically unsuccessful and in 1989 only three birds returned from their wintering grounds, all of which apparently died before they could reproduce, thus rendering them extinct in the wild in Turkey. A newly-established colony now exists at Birecik, but is heavily managed, with birds taken into captivity after the breeding season to prevent them from migrating. The Northern Bald Ibis is one of the species to which the Agreement on the Conservation of African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbirds (AEWA) applies. The Northern Bald Ibis was revered by the Egyptian Pharaohs
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Photo credit: © Ali Kabas / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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