Where do scarlet ipsis come from?

He does not like his camouflage, crimson ibis. With its bright red scars, pink legs and curved long bill, it stands out in the green boulder landscape of the Netherlands. They do not occur naturally here. One more was discovered on Tuesday Park in WateringtonNear the hack. There was even last week Already seen in Hervigen, A village about 75 kilometers east, near Corinchem. In between was a record of a crimson IPS In Hooghly, Near Assen.

If we take it it will become many ips Spotters can count on attention. nl – Because the places of care are so far away. An IPS cannot be in three places at once. In the Netherlands, Paul Van Ells, the watchdog network coordinator of the Sovan Bird Research Monitoring Department, says these are escaped birds. “Naturally, scarlet ibis is found only along the north coast of South America.” And since most birds in the tropics do not migrate or rarely migrate, it is unlikely that he himself traveled 9,000 kilometers to Europe.

“The birds probably came from a aviary,” says Van Ells. But where from? It is difficult to determine in birds that no one knows and is not bred. In theory it was one of fourteen ips that escaped from Belgium to the zoo Blanchendale. Last year’s storm damaged a cage, allowing several birds to escape. Of the fourteen, only ten have been rescued.

But these birds are unlikely to be large for so long, Van Ells thinks. “It’s a tropical bird. I don’t think it would have survived last winter.” However, its relative white ibis is also found in North America, which is more seasonal than the tropical habitat of the scarlet ibis. “Because both are hybrids, the white and crimson ibis may actually be the same bird species, a different color.” In theory, the tropical scarlet ibis can withstand the same climate as in North Carolina, for example, compared to the Spanish climate.

Health care

Nevertheless, many red birds in the Netherlands are seriously concerned about the health of the crimson ibis in the Netherlands. If someone catches the birds, many offers have already been made to take them away. Van Ells thinks things are going well this time. Anyway, they can find enough food in the summer. “They’re generalists, they eat all kinds of stuff,” says Van Ells. Through their long bills they search for frogs, crustaceans and small fish.