CreatureData

Black-headed ibis

Threskiornis melanocephalus (Latham, 1790)

LCLeast Concernbirds

The black-headed ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus) is a species in the family Threskiornithidae, order Pelecaniformes. Recorded adults weigh 1.42 kg to 1.57 kg and live up to 28.7 years. Its IUCN Red List status is Least Concern.

No freely licensed photo yet

Quick facts about the black-headed ibis

Weight
1.42 kg – 1.57 kgsrc for Weight
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
28.7 yearssrc for Lifespan
Diet
Aquatic predatorsrc for Diet
Longest recorded lifespan
37 years
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
wetlandsrc for Habitat
Egg incubation
28.5 dayssrc for Egg incubation
Young per litter or clutch
2.8 – 3src for Young per litter or clutch
Age at maturity
2.98 yearssrc for Age at maturity
Litters or clutches a year
1src for Litters or clutches a year
Lifestyle
Terrestrialsrc for Lifestyle
Migration
Sedentarysrc for Migration
Conservation status
Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
Countries on record
Not recorded

Photos of the black-headed ibis

Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.

1 more photo exists under a licence we cannot display: view at source.

Where does the black-headed ibis live?

Not recorded

What is the black-headed ibis?

Quoted from WikipediaCC BY-SA 4.0

The black-headed ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus), also known as the Oriental white ibis, Indian white ibis, and black-necked ibis, is a species of wading bird of the ibis family Threskiornithidae which breeds in the South and Southeast Asia from India to the west and as far east as Japan. It is the only native ibis species in its range that has an overall white plumage with a black neck and head. The down-curved beak and legs are also black. Though often referred to as a wetland species, the black-headed ibis forages in a range of natural and man-made habitats. This species of ibis nests only during the rainy season.

From the Wikipedia article “Black-headed ibis” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Black-headed_ibis&oldid=1381425580), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.

Is the black-headed ibis endangered?

The black-headed ibis is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.

  1. LCLeast Concern
  2. NTNear Threatened
  3. VUVulnerable
  4. ENEndangered
  5. CRCritically Endangered
  6. EWExtinct in the Wild
  7. EXExtinct

Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species. What the categories mean.

How is the black-headed ibis classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumChordata
  3. classAves
  4. orderPelecaniformes
  5. familyThreskiornithidae
  6. genusThreskiornis
  7. SpeciesThreskiornis melanocephalus (Latham, 1790)

Synonyms Ibis leucon, Tantalus melanocephalus, Threskiornis aethiopicus melanocephalus

Other names and names in other languages (66)
  • Black-necked ibisEnglish
  • Black-necked ibisEnglish
  • Indian white ibisEnglish
  • Indian white ibisEnglish
  • Oriental white ibisEnglish
  • Oriental white ibisEnglish
  • أبو منجل أسود الرأسArabic
  • ابو منجل اسود الراسEgyptian Arabic
  • কালোমাথা কাস্তেচরাBangla
  • Ibiz penn duBreton
  • ibis capnegreCatalan
  • Ibis de Cap NegreCatalan
  • Шим вуян ибисMari
  • ibis černohlavýCzech
  • ibis pendduWelsh
  • Indisk IbisDanish
  • SchwarzhalsibisGerman
  • SchwarzkopfibisGerman
  • Μαυροκέφαλη ίβιδαGreek
  • nigrakapa ibisoEsperanto
  • Ibis orientalSpanish
  • Ibis CabecinegroSpanish
  • idaiibisEstonian
  • اکراس سرسیاهPersian
  • aasianpyhäiibisFinnish
  • Ibis à tête noireFrench
  • מגלן שחור-ראשHebrew
  • crnoglavi ibisCroatian
  • feketefejű íbiszHungarian
  • Ibis cucuk-besiIndonesian
  • Ibis testaneraItalian
  • クロトキJapanese
  • ಬಿಳಿ ಕೆಂಬರಲುKannada
  • ಕಂಚಗಾರ ಕೊಕ್ಕರೆKannada
  • 검은머리흰따오기Korean
  • azijinis ibisLithuanian
  • Azijinis juodagalvis ibisLithuanian
  • melngalvas ibissLatvian
  • കഷണ്ടിക്കൊക്ക്Malayalam
  • വെള്ള അരിവാൾക്കൊക്കൻMalayalam
  • काळ्या डोक्याचा शराटीMarathi
  • Burung Sekendi Kepala HitamMalay
  • सेतो साँवरीNepali
  • ZwartkopibisDutch
  • Indische Witte IbisDutch
  • orientibisNorwegian
  • ଧଳା ବାଜୁଣିOdia
  • ibis siwopióryPolish
  • کالے سر آلا آئیبسWestern Panjabi
  • íbis-de-cabeça-negraPortuguese
  • íbis-de-cabeça-pretaPortuguese
  • Черноголовый ибисRussian
  • Индия иибиһэYakut
  • ibis čiernohlavýSlovak
  • črnoglavi ibisSlovenian
  • црноглави ибисSerbian
  • Azijski sveti ibisSerbian
  • வெள்ளை அரிவாள் மூக்கன்Tamil
  • นกช้อนหอยขาวThai
  • Kara başlı aynakTurkish
  • Oriyental Kutsal AynağıTurkish
  • ібіс сивоперийUkrainian
  • Cò quăm đầu đenVietnamese
  • 黑头白鹮Chinese
  • 黑頭白䴉Chinese
  • 黑頭白鹮Chinese

Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List

Relatives of the black-headed ibis

Other species in the same genus Threskiornis.

Reunion ibis

Threskiornis solitarius

ThreskiornithidaeNo free photo yet

CompareBlack-headed ibis vs African sacred ibisBlack-headed ibis vs Australian white ibisBlack-headed ibis vs Straw-necked ibisBlack-headed ibis vs Reunion ibis

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

How big is the black-headed ibis?

An adult black-headed ibis weighs 1.42 kg – 1.57 kg, according to values recorded on Wikidata.

Is the black-headed ibis endangered?

The black-headed ibis is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List, meaning it is not currently at risk of extinction.

How long does the black-headed ibis live?

The black-headed ibis has a recorded lifespan of 28.7 years.

What kind of animal is the black-headed ibis?

The black-headed ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus) belongs to the family Threskiornithidae in the order Pelecaniformes.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Black-headed ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-ibis

MLA

“Black-headed ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-ibis.

BibTeX
@misc{black_headed_ibis_2026,
  title = {Black-headed ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/black-headed-ibis},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}