Studies of Ibises in Victoria. I: Records of breeding since 1955

Abstract

Records collected since 1955 show that ibises have bred at sixty-six sites in Victoria: fifty-three of these were used by Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopica; thirty-five by Straw-necked T. spinicollis; and two by Glossy Plegadis falcinellus. In northern Victoria ibises bred only in wetlands, usually on lignum Meuhlenbeckia cunninghamii, reeds Phragmites spp, rush Juncaceae or Eucalyptus trees in water. In southern Victoria ibises bred mostly in wetlands, usually on reeds, rushes or paperbarks Melaleuca ericifolia but Sacred Ibis have bred in trees Eucalyptus spp and Cupressus spp. on dry land. Records for twenty-five sites used regularly suggest that breeding ibises have extended into south-central and south-eastern Victoria during the past twenty years. The minimum number of adult ibises observed at the twenty-six largest sites during the 1979-80 breeding season was estimated at 110,000.