{"id":2631,"date":"2018-10-11T19:02:26","date_gmt":"2018-10-11T19:02:26","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/birdingthestrait.com\/?p=2631"},"modified":"2024-03-26T12:52:38","modified_gmt":"2024-03-26T12:52:38","slug":"glossy-ibis-the-andalusian-phoenix","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/birdingthestrait.com\/blog\/glossy-ibis-the-andalusian-phoenix\/","title":{"rendered":"Glossy Ibis, the Andalusian Phoenix"},"content":{"rendered":"

A murmuration of starlings, a murder of crows, a confusion of chiffchaffs, a prayer of godwits, a committee of vultures\u2026what about the Glossy Ibis?<\/p>\n

\"Adult
Adult Glossy Ibis breeding in La Janda, the Strait of Gibraltar.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Glossy Ibis Galore<\/h1>\n

Once upon a recent time a Glossy Ibis in Andalusia was a celebrated finding.<\/p>\n

The species declined to extinction as a breeding species in Spain during the 20th<\/sup> Century. Then, it was recorded sporadically during the 60s, 70s and early 80s. Thereafter observation became more frequent and 7 pairs nested in Do\u00f1ana in 1996 (De Juana & Garcia 2015<\/a>). Nowadays, the breeding population in Do\u00f1ana does notably exceed 10.000 pairs. Moreover, the number of individuals gathering at communal roosts when the mud driving (aka fangueo) takes place is hard to believe!<\/p>\n

Testimony to this is the following video recorded at dawn in early October 2018. Thousands of Glossy Ibises leave their night roost in the rice paddies at the margins of Guadalquivir River. Do you dare to give an estimate on the number of individuals?<\/p>\n