Skip to Main Content
Skip Nav Destination

Ancient Egyptians deified Ibis and, in common with the farmers in western New South Wales, saw them as allies in the fight against pestilence. However, successive years of drought and reduced river flows in the west may have driven the Ibis east where they have taken advantage of poor urban waste management practices and the community's “need to feed” friendly birds. Ibis have established viable colonies in urban areas with population numbers in the thousands. The Australian White Ibis Threskiornis molucca population in metropolitan Sydney has increased considerably over the past 15 years. The impact that this increase has had on other wetland species has largely gone unmeasured. Information available on the success of this species in urban environments is scant although there is documented evidence on the impact of Ibis and other large wetland birds on wetland habitats. The long-term viability of urban wetlands relies on the ability of managers to balance aesthetics and conservation on the one hand, with recreational land use issues on the other. Next to the management of human recreation, the management of problem fauna, including native species that have the potential to impact on aesthetics or conservation values of these habitats, is foremost.

Australian Transport Safety Bureau. 2002. The Hazards posed to Aircraft by Birds. Unpublished report for the Commonwealth Department of Transport and Regional Services. Canberra.
Baxter, G. S., and Fairweather, P. G. 1994. Phosphorus and nitrogen in wetlands with and without egret colonies. Australian Journal of Ecology 19: 409-416.
Briggs, S. V., and Thornton, S. A. 1995. Management of River Red Gums for waterbird nesting Corella 19: 32-137.
Carrick, R., 1962. Breeding, movements, and conservation of Ibises (Threskiornidae) in Australia. Wildlife Research, 7: 71-88
Hoskins, E., 1992. Birds of Centennial Park. Unpublished manuscript.
Kentish, B. 1994. Effect of revegetation on Silver Gull and Sacred Ibis populations at Winter Swamp, Ballarat. Corella 18(3): 71-76.
Kentish, B. 1999. Breeding of Australian White Ibis, Straw-necked Ibis and Silver Gulls on Winter Swamp, Ballarat from 1990-1997. Corella 23(2): 37-42.
Marchant, S. and Higgins, P. J. (eds) 1990 Handbook of Australasian, New Zealand, and Antarctic Birds. Volume 1 part B. Pelican to Ducks. pp. 1078 - 1087: Oxford University Press: Melbourne.
Morris, A. K. 1983. First breeding of the Sacred Ibis in the County of Cumberland. Australian Birds. 17: 43-44.
Mc Kee, J. 2002. A synopsis of the disease risk associated with Australian White Ibis ( Threskiornis molucca) in the Tweed - Gold Coast Region. unpublished report.
McKee, J., Hall, L., Field, H. and Shaw, P. 2000. Recognition of Emergent Disease Risk inWildlife Populations Proceedings International Society for Environmental Health Annual meeting, Brisbane July 2000.
NPIAW. 1985 The Waterbirds of Australia, edited by V. Serventy. Angus and Robertson Publishers. North Ryde.
Perry, J. 2001 Factors influencing the distribution of Australian White Ibis in urban Sydney. Masters Thesis. University of Sydney, Sydney.
Ross, G. A. 2000. White Ibis Threskiornis molucca at Sydney Airport: The Pertinacious Pest? Proceedings of the NSW Pest Animal Control Conference, 25-27th October 2000 Orange, NSW 2000.
Shaw, P. P. 1997. Working towards a natural balance. A report into the findings of the Ibis Management Coordination Group's Pilot program. Ibis Management. Ibis Management Coordination Group. Gold Coast.
Smith, G. C., and Carlile, N. 1993. Methods in population control within a Silver Gull colony. Wildlife Research. 20: 219-226.
This content is PDF only. Please click on the PDF icon to access.

Contents

Member Access to Full Text Papers

How do RZS NSW members access the full text papers?

If you are a current RZS NSW member (with publications), please access the full text of papers by visiting https://www.rzsnsw.org.au/Australian-Zoologist-access-(Members-Only) (you will be asked to log in to RZS NSW). Do not log in at the top of this current page for access.

Data & Figures

Supplements

References

Close Modal

or Create an Account

Close Modal
Close Modal