Theristicus is a genus of birds in the family Threskiornithidae. They are found in open, grassy habitats in South America. All have a long, decurved dark bill, relatively short reddish legs that do not extend beyond the tail in flight (unlike e.g. Eudocimus and Plegadis), and at least the back is grey.
Theristicus | |
---|---|
Black-faced ibis. | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Pelecaniformes |
Family: | Threskiornithidae |
Subfamily: | Threskiornithinae |
Genus: | Theristicus Wagler, 1832 |
Type species | |
Tantalus melanopis Gmelin, 1789
|
The genus Theristicus was erected by the German naturalist Johann Georg Wagler in 1832 with the black-faced ibis as the type species.[1][2] The name is from the Ancient Greek theristikos meaning "of reaping".[3] The genus contains four species.[4]
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Plumbeous ibis
|
Theristicus caerulescens (Vieillot, 1817) |
south-western Brazil, especially in southern Mato Grosso and Rio Grande do Sul; Paraguay, especially in the Chaco and in the Paraguayan section of the Parana Basin; Uruguay; north-eastern Argentina and northern and eastern Bolivia |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Buff-necked ibis
|
Theristicus caudatus (Boddaert, 1783) |
northern and central South America in Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas and Brazil |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Black-faced ibis
|
Theristicus melanopis von Berlepsch & Stolzmann, 1894 |
central Argentina and Chile |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
LC
|
Andean ibis
|
Theristicus branickii (Gmelin, 1789) |
western South America |
Size: Habitat: Diet: |
NT
|