Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus) | Details

Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus

Current view: Data table and detailed info

Taxonomy

Taxonomic source(s)
del Hoyo, J., Collar, N.J., Christie, D.A., Elliott, A. and Fishpool, L.D.C. 2014. HBW and BirdLife International Illustrated Checklist of the Birds of the World. Volume 1: Non-passerines. Lynx Edicions BirdLife International, Barcelona, Spain and Cambridge, UK.

IUCN Red List criteria met and history

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2016	Near Threatened	A2bcd+3bcd+4bcd
2012	Near Threatened	A2bcd+3bcd+4bcd
2008	Near Threatened	A2b,c,d; A3b,c,d; A4b,c,d
2006	Near Threatened
2004	Near Threatened
2000	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1994	Lower Risk/Near Threatened
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Species attributes

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	low
Land-mass type	continent shelf island	Average mass	-

Range

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	11,210,000 km²	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

Population

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	250000-500000 mature individuals	medium	suspected	2023
Population trend	increasing	medium	inferred	-
Generation length	10.81 years	-	-	-
Number of subpopulations	1	-	-	-
Percentage of mature individuals in largest subpopulation	100%	-	-	-

Population justification: Wetlands International (2002) estimated the population in South-East Asia and South Asia as, respectively, up to 10,000 and 25,000, although these data are now more than two decades out of date and it is evident from South Asia at least that these data likely represent a considerable underestimate. Numbers in South Asia apparently exceed 400,000 (K. S. G. Sundar in litt. 2024) and it is likely that numbers in South-East Asia have also historically been underestimated. The global population size of this species is therefore estimated at 400,000-600,000 birds. In line with other waterbird populations (e.g. Meininger et al. 1995) 20-35% of birds at at any one time are likely to be immature. Accordingly the number of mature individuals is estimated at 260,000-480,000, rounded here to 250,000-500,000.

Trend justification: In India, where a great majority of the global population probably resides, a recent analysis of citizen science data found an increase in reporting rate (SoIB 2023) while long-term monitoring of waterbirds in Kerala also recently reported considerable increases (Nameer et al. 2015, Praveen J in litt. 2024). These increases have been attributed to the species' ability to exploit farmland and the increasing irrigation canal network across South Asia (K. S. G. Sundar in litt. 2024). In South-East Asia, the overall population is probably also now increasing, in large part because of the protection of the Prek Toal colony in Cambodia (see Goes 2013) and a concurrent spread and increase in abundance in wetlands in neighbouring Thailand, and perhaps also southern Vietnam (eBird 2024). In Myanmar the species is apparently stable across its range in the country (sometimes with inter-annual variation) (Zöckler et al. 2014, C. Zöckler in litt. 2024). Locally, in parts of its range (especially in South-East Asia), disturbance, hunting and egg collecting may continue to cause local declines, but these threats either in isolation or when compounded are not thought to be acute or widespread enough to be affecting global trends.

Country/territory distribution

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident
Bangladesh	extant	native	yes
Bhutan	extant	native	yes
Cambodia	extant	native	yes
China (mainland)	extant	vagrant
Hong Kong (China)	extant	vagrant
India	extant	native	yes
Indonesia	extant	native	yes
Japan	extant	vagrant
Laos	extant	vagrant
Malaysia	extant	vagrant
Myanmar	extant	native	yes
Nepal	extant	native	yes
Pakistan	extant	native	yes
Philippines	extant	vagrant
South Korea	extant	vagrant
Sri Lanka	extant	native	yes
Thailand	extant	native	yes
Vietnam	extant	native	yes

Important Bird and Biodiversity Areas (IBA)

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Cambodia	Ang Tropeang Thmor
Cambodia	Prek Toal
China (mainland)	Zhalong Nature Reserve
India	Bhashkarpara
India	Gudavi Bird Sanctuary
India	Harike Lake Bird Sanctuary
India	Karanji Tank
India	Narasambudhi Lake
India	Odiyur Lagoon
India	Vettangudi Bird Sanctuary
Indonesia	Pesisir Riau Tenggara
Indonesia	Pulau Dua
Indonesia	Sembilang
Myanmar	Gulf of Mottama
Nepal	Farmlands in Lumbini area
Nepal	Koshi Tappu Wildlife Reserve and Koshi Barrage
Sri Lanka	Giants Tank
Sri Lanka	Yala
Vietnam	Bac Lieu
Vietnam	Tra Cu

Habitats & altitude

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Artificial/Aquatic & Marine	Artificial/Aquatic - Seasonally Flooded Agricultural Land	major	resident
Forest	Subtropical/Tropical Mangrove Vegetation Above High Tide Level	suitable	resident
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded	major	resident
Marine Coastal/Supratidal	Coastal Brackish/Saline Lagoons/Marine Lakes	suitable	resident
Marine Intertidal	Salt Marshes (Emergent Grasses)	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Freshwater Lakes (over 8ha)	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Rivers/Streams/Creeks (includes waterfalls)	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 1200 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threats & impact

Threat (level 1)

Threat (level 2)

Impact and Stresses

Biological resource use

Hunting & trapping terrestrial animals - Intentional use (species is the target)

Timing

Scope

Severity

Impact

Ongoing

Minority (<50%)

No decline

Low Impact: 4

Stresses
Species mortality

Human intrusions & disturbance

Work & other activities