More than 5,000 crested ibises worldwide, 4,100 of them in Shaanxi: distribution and protection level?

In our country, there is a medium-sized water bird with white feathers called the crested ibis, and its numbers are scarce. Moreover, at present,of more than 5,000 crested ibises worldwide, 4,100 are in Shaanxi! What is the specific situation? What protection level animal is it?

1. More than 5,000 crested ibises worldwide, 4,100 in Shaanxi! What is the specific situation?

According to incomplete statistics, after 40 years of effort, the global population of the crested ibis has expanded from 7 when it was discovered in Yangxian, Shaanxi, in 1981 to more than 5,000 today. From “discovery” to “protection” to “reproduction” to “revival,” the crested ibis has continuously expanded from its habitat to its historical range. Of these, 4,400 are in China, and 4,100 are in Shaanxi. The crested ibis's threat status has been lowered from critically endangered to endangered, and a steady growth trend has basically taken shape.

2. What protection level animal is the crested ibis?

The crested ibis is a first-class protected animal. In ancient times it was called the crested ibis and red crested ibis, and the crested ibis is an endemic species of East Asia. It is medium-sized, with white body plumage, a long willow-leaf-shaped crest on the back of the head, and bare skin from the forehead to the cheeks that is bright red; during the breeding season it constantly pecks with its bill at the gray pigment secreted from the neck muscles and applies it to the feathers of the head, neck, upper back and both wings, turning them gray-black.

The crested ibis is not only beautiful and rare, but also has high ornamental, aesthetic, biological and cultural value, and it also has high value in diplomacy.

3. Where is the crested ibis distributed?

1. Distribution

In China, the crested ibis was once widely distributed in the Ussuri River basin and Xingkai Lake in Heilongjiang Province in the northeast, in eastern, central and western Jilin Province, in Dalian, Jinxian and Yingkou on the Liaodong Peninsula in Liaoning Province, in Hebei, in the Xiong'er Mountains in western Henan, in Shandong, in southeastern Shanxi, in Taibai Mountain and Yangxian in southern Shaanxi, in Lanzhou and Huixian in southeastern Gansu, in Anhui, in Quxian in Zhejiang, as well as in Fuzhou, Taiwan, China and Hainan Island, and it has only been seen in Yangxian, Shaanxi.

2. Habitat

It inhabits open woodland areas at an altitude of 1200-1400 m, wading in nearby streams, marshes and rice fields, strolling and foraging for small fish, crabs, frogs, snails and other aquatic animals, and also eating insects; it rests and roosts overnight in tall trees; it is a resident bird, and in autumn and winter it forms small groups and wanders over a small range toward low mountains and plains; it begins building nests in April-May and breeds one brood each year, with 2-4 eggs per brood, incubated and raised by both parents, with an incubation period of about 30 days, leaving the nest after 40 days, reaching sexual maturity at 3 years old, and the longest recorded lifespan is 37 years.

The above is the full introduction to the fact that of more than 5,000 crested ibises worldwide, 4,100 are in Shaanxi. The growth in the number of crested ibises also shows that the environment has been improving in recent years, which is a very good change for both humans and other living things.