sacred ibis

n. A large, short-legged ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) native to Africa and the Middle East, having predominantly white plumage and a black, naked head and neck.

[From the veneration of this ibis by the ancient Egyptians.]

sa′cred i′bis

n. an African ibis, Threskiornis aethiopica, having a black head: venerated by the ancient Egyptians.

Thesaurus

Noun

sacred ibis - African ibis venerated by ancient EgyptiansThreskiornis aethiopicaibis - wading birds of warm regions having long slender down-curved billsgenus Threskiornis, Threskiornis - type genus of the Threskiornithidae

Translations

Sacred Ibis

(Threskiornis aethiopica), a bird of the family Threskiornithidae of the order Ciconiiformes. It is about 75 cm long and has a long (17 cm) and slightly decurved bill. The plumage is white, with a blackish green iridescence on the wing tips. The head and neck are black and bare in the adult and feathered in the young.

The sacred ibis is found throughout sub-Saharan Africa, the southern Arabian Peninsula, and Madagascar. It was also distributed in Egypt until the 19th century. In the USSR it is accidental in the Caspian Sea region. In southern Africa and the Sudan it is migratory. In ancient Egypt it was considered sacred because its arrival coincided with the flooding of the Nile, which provided irrigation water for the fields.

The sacred ibis nests along shores in trees or bushes or on the ground; a clutch contains two or three eggs. The sacred ibis feeds on fish, small reptiles, insects, and mollusks.

sacred ibis

sacred ibis

sa′cred i′bis

Sacred Ibis

Sacred Ibis

sacred ibis

Synonyms for sacred ibis

noun African ibis venerated by ancient Egyptians

Synonyms

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