African Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) [XC417635]
by Frank Lambert from ca\u00f1ada de los p\u00e1jaros, puebla del r\u00edo, sevilla, andaluc\u00eda, Spain (begging call)
African Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) [XC661232]
by Fernand DEROUSSEN from Lignana str. Da Crova Tenuta Roncarolo, Provincia di Vercelli, Piemonte, Italy (?)
Subspecies
Threskiornis aethiopicus (Sibley and Monroe 1993) has been split into Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis aethiopicus) and Madagascar Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis bernieri) following Sibley and Monroe (1990) whose treatment has been adopted by the BirdLife Taxonomic Working Group.
Forms superspecies with Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus) and Australian Ibis (Threskiornis moluccus), the two sometimes regarded as subspecies of Black-headed Ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus). Subspecies bernieri and abbotti very similar, perhaps better considered single form (bernieri has priority), that some regard as distinct species.
The following 3 subspecies are recognised:
aethiopicus (Latham, 1790) - Africa south of Sahara, south-eastern Iraq; formerly Egypt.
bernieri (Bonaparte, 1855) - Madagascar, Aldabra. Considered by some authors to be a distinct species, Madagascar Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis bernieri).
abbotti (Ridgway, 1893) - Aldabra I. Considered by some authors to be a subspecies of Madagascar Sacred Ibis (Threskiornis bernieri).