From endangered to reborn, what has the "Oriental Gem" Crested Ibis experienced?

Audit expert: Wang Lei

National Parks and Conservation Areas Researcher, PhD in Ecology

Crested Ibis - Gem of the East

The crested ibis, also known as the crested ibis, red ibis, and red flamingo in ancient times, has lived on Earth for more than 60 million years. It is a wading bird of the genus Crested Ibis in the family Ibis of the order Pelecaniformes and is a first-class protected wild animal in China. It is called the "Oriental Gem" and the "Bird of Good Luck."

The crested ibis is of medium size, with white body feathers, a long willow-leaf-shaped crest on the back of the head, and bare bright red skin from forehead to cheeks. During the breeding season, it uses its beak to continuously peck at the gray pigment secreted from the neck muscles and smears it on the head, neck, upper back and wings, turning the feathers on the head, neck, upper back and wings gray-black.

The crested ibis is a medium-sized wading bird, with males and females looking similar. Source: Qinling Giant Panda Research Center

According to historical records, the crested ibis was a widespread species in the east of Asia, from Blagoveshchensk in Siberia in the north to Taiwan in the south, Iwate Prefecture in Japan in the east, and Gansu in the west. In mainland China, the crested ibis is widely distributed in the northeast, north, east, south, central and western regions, with 15 provinces and cities having records of crested ibis distribution.

Lonely and quiet

The Crested Ibis is rather solitary and quiet. It does not sing during normal activities except when taking off.

Crested Ibis and Egrets Dance TogetherSource: Beijing Daily Chronicle

Crested Ibis often moves alone, in pairs or in small groups, and rarely socializes with other birds. It moves slowly and flaps its wings slowly when flying, with its head and neck stretched forward and its legs stretched backward, but not protruding beyond its tail. Crested Ibis usually inhabits streams, swamps, and rice fields, and feeds mainly on invertebrates such as small fish, shrimps, crabs, crustaceans, insects, and small vertebrates.

Atypical migratory birds

In our impression, it seems that most birds migrate according to seasonal changes. However, the red-crowned crane is not a typical migratory bird.

They usually live and breed in the same area and do not migrate long distances. However, in some special circumstances, such as food shortages or habitat degradation, crested ibises may be forced to migrate short distances to find a more suitable living environment.

Coexistence with people

The crested ibis is more friendly. Although its foraging ability and adaptability to habitats are not as good as those of herons with similar feeding habits, its habits are more friendly and it has a relative competitive advantage in foraging in rice fields. In the habitat of the crested ibis, agricultural production, tourism activities and protection complement each other.

The symbiosis between crested ibis and humans

The picture above shows the scene of symbiosis between red-crowned cranes and humans, reflecting the unity of ecological space and human production and living space.

From critically endangered to reborn

The red-crowned crane was once widely distributed in a vast area from the Russian Far East in the north to Taiwan in the south, but the number of this beautiful species declined rapidly in the first half of the 20th century and was once "on the verge of death."

In May 1981, researchers discovered the only seven wild crested ibises left in the world at that time in Yang County, Shaanxi. Lu Baozhong, a professor-level senior engineer at the Shaanxi Hanzhong Crested Ibis National Nature Reserve Management Bureau, said that Yang County is a very rare home for crested ibises, because crested ibises are very strict in choosing their environment, making nests in large trees and foraging in paddy fields and river wetlands. Yang County is located in a warm and humid climate zone. In addition, there are more than 80 rivers and reservoirs along the north and south of the Han River, and more than 10,000 hectares of rice fields. In such an environment, crested ibises can choose to survive and reproduce stably for a long time.

The first group of crested ibis discovered

40 years later, after three steps of on-site protection, artificial breeding and release into the wild, the red-crowned crane in Yang County has flourished. By December 2022, the global population of red-crowned cranes has expanded to more than 9,000, and the area of ​​their habitat has expanded from less than 5 square kilometers to about 16,000 square kilometers. It has reappeared in many historical distribution areas such as Ningshan in Shaanxi, Dongying in Shandong, Deqing in Zhejiang, Sado in Japan, and Changnyeong County in South Korea.

The rebirth of the Crested Ibis species is a global miracle of China's biodiversity work. From 7 individuals, the species has expanded to tens of thousands worldwide. After 2000, the Crested Ibis became the new national gift to replace the panda.

Crested Ibis in Poetry

There are many birds in the poems and songs of the ancients, and the crested ibis has frequently become the subject of poets' songs. The feathers of the crested ibis are white with a hint of red, so people call it "red crane". "Crane" is homophonic with "fire", which means "red fire".

The Tang Dynasty poet Zhang Ji wrote a poem called "The Ibis Poem", "The graceful Ibis comes to float on the spring pond and rest on the green trees", which arouses people's endless reverie. Su Wu of the Western Han Dynasty used the poem "Drying feathers on the golden embankment, bathing woolen clothes in the red water. Not greedy for food under the reeds, but returning from afar with gratitude" to express his unyielding loyalty to the Han court through the ibis; the Tang Dynasty poet Liu Yuxi used the poem "Red jade is carved into shining feathers, and red silk is cut into exquisite wings" to praise the beauty of the ibis.

Crested ibis photographed at Xiazhuhu National Wetland Park in Deqing County, Huzhou City. (Photo from China News Service)