African Sacred Ibis
Threskiornis aethiopicus (Latham, 1790)
Photo © By Christiaan Kooyman - Own work, Public Domain, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=534927
STATUS
Africa. Monotypic.
OVERVIEW
Species not admitted nationally (BOU 1971).
NOT PROVEN
0). 1871 Sussex Bulverhythe, caught alive, undated.
(J. H. Gurney, jun., British Birds 6: 232).
[BOU, 1971].
History J. H. Gurney, jun., (1912) in British Birds, Vol. VI. p. 232, in a Letter, says: 'Sirs, - Although the Sacred Ibis recently shot in Essex (British Birds, p. 200) was probably an escaped one, there is more to be said for one which was taken alive on the coast at Bulverhythe in Sussex in 1871. I saw this bird alive in a garden near to where it had been caught, and some particulars of it were sent to Prof. Newton.'
0). 1912 Essex Danbury, immature, shot, about 21st August.
(R. M. Christy, British Birds 6: 200).
[BOU, 1971].
History R. Miller Christy (1912) in British Birds, Vol. VI. p. 200, in a Letter, says: 'On or about August 21st, 1912, an Ibis (apparently I. aethiopica, but possibly I. melanocephala), evidently immature, was shot at Danbury, Essex, by a game-keeper named Arthur Wheeler, employed by Mr. J. C. Spencer-Phillips, of Riffhams, Danbury. The bird was first seen squatting in a hedge, apparently in an exhausted condition. It is now stuffed and being mounted by Messrs. Leech, of Chelmsford, through whose kindness I have been able to examine it. Although it shows no signs of having been in confinement, there can be scarcely a doubt that it is really an "escape"; for there is no well-authenticated record of the occurrence in Britain, or even in Europe, of either of the white Ibises. I have ascertained that no such bird has escaped recently from the Zoological Society's Gardens: but the Duke of Bedford (who has some of these birds flying wild at Woburn Abbey) has been good enough to have me informed that one was missed at the beginning of September and might have escaped some time earlier. It seems almost certain, therefore, that this is the bird shot at Danbury. Assuming this to be the case, the fact that the bird's wanderings (extending over some fifty-five miles, the distance from Woburn to Danbury) were more or less to the southeastward (that is, in the direction of its natal region), may be noted for what it is worth".
[It would be a considerable service to ornithology if such birds which are liable to escape or are intentionally liberated, were "ringed" by those who keep them in captivity or semi-captivity". - Eds.]
Comment Probable escape.
0). 1939 Norfolk Salthouse Marshes, early June; same, July; same, Hevingham, shot, undated, now at Castle Museum, Norwich.
(C. E. Gay, Wild Bird Protection in Norfolk 1939: 20).
[BOU, 1971].
History C. E. Gay (1939) in Wild Bird Protection in Norfolk, p. 20, says: 'This arrived on the marshes at Salthouse in the first week of June and stayed only for a short time. Its second visit was in July when it was seen by several observers up to the end of the month. It was eventually found shot at Hevingham and is now in the Castle Museum, Norwich.'
