African sacred ibis
Amazing fact
Young African sacred ibises have white feathers streaked with black on their heads and necks.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
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An illustration based on the real animal.
A little discovery to share.
Young African sacred ibises have white feathers streaked with black on their heads and necks.
THE REAL WORLD
The real African sacred ibis
- Scientific name
- Threskiornis aethiopicus
- Japanese name
- アフリカクロトキ
- Group
- Birds
- Class
- Aves
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
- Family
- Threskiornithidae
- Genus
- Threskiornis
An ibis of Africa south of the Sahara that lives near water, such as rivers and coasts.
Its body is covered mostly in white feathers. It has a long neck and a bare, dark gray-black head.
It walks along the water's edge on its long legs and pokes its long, curved bill into the water to find fish and other food.
How the African sacred ibis lives
During the day, it usually searches for food in flocks in shallow wetlands. It mainly eats insects, arachnids, annelid worms, crustaceans and mollusks. It also gathers in flocks to share roosts. It begins breeding in the rainy season and builds large, flat nests using branches and other materials.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web上野動物園Basic data
- Size
- Total length: males 65–89 cmWingspan: 112–124 cmLength: 65–75 cm上野動物園University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Weight
- 1.5 kg上野動物園
- Lifespan
- up to 20 yearsUniversity of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Active
- By day (diurnal)University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web
- Diet
- Insects, crustaceans, amphibians, reptiles, fish, small mammals, birds, and seeds上野動物園
- Range
- Africa south of the Sahara上野動物園
Where the African sacred ibis has been recorded
Records: GBIF.org (CC0 and CC BY 4.0 records, retrieved 2026-11-07). Map: Natural EarthSee the records on GBIF
Watch wild animals from a distance. Do not touch or feed them, and take care of the places where they live.
Names around the world
- 日本語
- アフリカクロトキ
- 简体中文
- 埃及圣鹮
- 繁體中文
- 埃及聖鹮
- 한국어
- 아프리카따오기
- Español
- Ibis sagrado
- Français
- Ibis sacré
- Deutsch
- Pharaonenibis
- Português (Brasil)
- Íbis-sagrado
- Italiano
- Ibis sacro
- العربية
- أبو منجل المحرم
- Bahasa Indonesia
- Ibis keramat afrika
- Tiếng Việt
- Cò quăm trắng châu Phi
- Русский
- Священный ибис
- Türkçe
- Kutsal aynak
Names come from Wikidata and iNaturalist records. Where a language has no recorded name, we use the scientific name.
Sources and how we check
- 上野動物園 — アフリカクロトキChecked: 2026-11-03
- University of Michigan Animal Diversity Web — Threskiornis aethiopicusChecked: 2026-11-03
We check each fact against its source. The illustrations simplify how the real animal looks.
The classification (class, order, family, genus) follows Wikidata records, checked against GBIF. Classifications can change as research goes on.
The basic data are the values given in each source. They vary with how the animal is measured, whether it is male or female, and whether it lives in the wild or in captivity.
This page was translated from the original Japanese with the help of AI.
Report a mistakeWhen you meet the African sacred ibis, look for this
- Look for the dark blue-green tips of the white flight feathers.
- Look for the dark red ring around each brown eye.
Animals do different things from day to day, so you may not always see this.
University of Michigan Animal Diversity WebEXHIBIT INFORMATION
Places that keep or show the African sacred ibis
Zoos, aquariums and other places whose official websites say they keep or show this animal.
Displays can change with the animals’ health and the seasons. Check each facility’s official website before you go.
RELATIVES
Others in Threskiornithidae
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