Hadeda Ibis Bostrychia hagedash
Somerset West, Cape Town, South Africa

The chunky, short-legged Hadeda Ibis is found throughout open grasslands, savanna and rainforests of Sudan, Ethiopia, Senegal, Uganda, Tanzania, Gabon, Zaire, Cameroon, Gambia, Kenya, Somalia and South Africa, and also in urban parks and large gardens. It feeds mainly on earthworms, using its long scimitar-like bill to probe soft soil. They may be confused with the similarly dark plumaged Glossy Ibis but even at a distance the white cheek mark is clearly visible, and unlike the Glossy Ibis this species is often found foraging on lawns (this bird was photographed near a hotel car-park in Cape Town).

These birds probably have one of the most distinctive calls of all African birds: a loud, raucous onomatopoeic ‘Haa-Dee-Daa’ - hence its colloquial name - which is given even when they are in flight. Hadedas are particularly vocal at dawn and dusk on the way from and to their overnight roosts.

 

 

Cape Town, South Africa. July

 

 

 

Uhuru Park, Kenya. November

 

All photographs copyright Charlie Moores