Rare glossy ibis recorded in central Vietnam for the first time
The rare glossy ibis, usually seen in southern Vietnam, has been recorded in central Vietnam for the first time.
Fourteen glossy ibises were spotted in central Vietnam for the first time. (Photo: Lê Mạnh Hùng)
On May 16, the Department of Science and Technology of Thừa Thiên Huế province (now Huế city) in central Vietnam reported that during a field survey at the mouth of the Ô Lâu River, in the Tam Giang - Cầu Hai lagoon system, a research team recorded 14 glossy ibises living in the area.
This is also the first record of the species in central Vietnam. Previously, the glossy ibis had only been recorded as a rare resident in the southern region (Nam Bộ) and as a vagrant passing through the northeastern region (Đông Bắc Bộ).
A glossy ibis hunts for fish in a flooded rice field in Phong Điền, a former district of Thừa Thiên Huế province, now part of Huế city.
The glossy ibis is one of the birds in the ibis and spoonbill family (Threskiornithidae), order Pelecaniformes. This family includes many rare species listed on the Red List of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and in the Vietnam Red Data Book, such as the black-faced spoonbill Platalea minor, the black-headed ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus, the giant ibis Pseudibis gigantea and the white-shouldered ibis Pseudibis davisoni.
The glossy ibis population is considered to be declining. In Vietnam, it is now found in significant numbers only in a few parts of the Mekong Delta, such as Tràm Chim National Park (Đồng Tháp province), Đất Mũi (Cà Mau province), the bird sanctuaries of the former Bạc Liêu province (now Cà Mau) and Láng Sen Nature Reserve (formerly Long An province, now Tây Ninh).
The first appearance of the glossy ibis in central Vietnam is an important contribution to the conservation of wild birds, especially migratory species. (Photo: Lê Mạnh Hùng)
According to the research team, this first record of the glossy ibis shows that the Ô Lâu River mouth and the Tam Giang – Cầu Hai lagoon in Huế are important for the conservation of wild birds, especially migratory species.
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