The African Sacred Ibis meant more to the ancient Egyptians than the Bald Eagle means to the U.S., the...

The African Sacred Ibis meant more to the ancient Egyptians than the Bald Eagle means to the U.S., the Red-crowned Crane to China and the Canada Goose to Canada.

The Sacred Ibis was literally sacred. Reverence toward it was promoted by Egyptian Pharaoh Amasis (570-526 BC) and fed so well for centuries in sanctuaries than a race of them stopped migrating. Over 1 million ibis were mummified and stacked in funeral containers in a vast underground cemetery complex. Amasis decreed the death penalty for any Egyptian who mistreated the birds.

Ibis species still hold a special place in the psyche of most Africans. The Giant Ibis is the national bird of Cambodia, and the Scarlet Ibis is one of two national birds of Trinidad and Tobago. Worldwide, there currently are 28 species of ibis, a genus of large, beautiful wading birds with downward curving bills.

Ironically, the African Sacred Ibis has vanished from Egypt. Its likeness is found on oil lamps, pottery, coins, statues and many other ornaments on display in museums from Cairo and Cape Town to Copenhagen and Tokyo.

Archaeologists surveying the ancient cemetery and tomb monuments at Tuna el-Gebel, Egypt, discovered over 1 million mummified ibises and many thousands of other birds and animals in underground tunnels and galleries.

(Photos: feeding ibis, Steve Garvie; sculpture in Copenhagen Museum, public domain)

Today, the African Sacred Ibis is a commonly seen nomadic waterbird widely distributed south of Egypt. It usually breeds during rainy seasons in communal nesting trees with other waterbirds near lakes, wetlands, grasslands, lagoons and other wet areas of sub-Saharan Africa to South Africa. Loss of wetlands (and hunting in some places) is the main threat.

Almost any popular African birding or wildlife tour will yield views of this strikingly attractive, long-legged species with a royal past.

Here is a map with birding tours to Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and Rwanda where the ibises and many other birds, wildlife and phenomenal scenery can be enjoyed:

https://topbirdingtours.com/birding-tours/category/birding-tours/africa-birding-tours/kenya-tanzania-uganda-rwanda-birding-tours

A two-part vacation tour to see Egypt and a more bird-rich African country to the south would be ideal for any ibis lover. I believe that the more we watch, photograph, study and enjoy African Sacred Ibises, the better for the species, all birds, all wildlife and all humans.

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