Bird Album
Crested Ibis
Nipponia nippon (Temminck, 1835)
75 cmLength130 cmWingspan1.9 kgWeight
It has pink-tinged white feathers, a bright red face, bright red legs and feet, and a long, decurved bill.
Busiest months: May · Most records: China, South Korea
How to identify
Field marks
- Entire face bare of feathers and bright red
- Nearly white in the non-breeding season, with pink-tinged flight feathers
- Long, decurved black bill with a red tip
- Legs and feet bright red; iris golden-yellow
Male, female and young
Sexes alike; juveniles are grayish overall, with a shorter crest.
Voice
Calls are noisy and grating, but it is quiet most of the time and calls mainly on takeoff.
Where and when it's recorded
Busiest months: May · Most records: China, South Korea
Crested Ibis has been recorded at 33 of the 8,276 birding hotspots we track, in 2 countries and regions.
Records by month Northern Hemisphere
To protect this bird from disturbance, we don't list exact sites.
Countries and regions with the most records
eBird records via GBIF up to 2024-12-31. A record means someone listed it; more records partly mean more birders, not more birds.
About
The crested ibis (Nipponia nippon), also called the Japanese crested ibis, Asian crested ibis or toki (トキ), is a species of bird in the ibis family, Threskiornithidae. It is the only species in the genus Nipponia.
Excerpt from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0 · authors · Read more on Wikipedia
Questions
How big is the Crested Ibis?
The Crested Ibis is about 75 cm long, with a wingspan of 130 cm and weighs around 1.9 kg.
Where does the Crested Ibis live?
Its breeding range: Palearctic: northeastern China. It is most often recorded in China and South Korea.
When is the best time to see the Crested Ibis?
At the hotspots we track, it is recorded most in May (Northern Hemisphere).
Is the Crested Ibis endangered?
The IUCN Red List classifies the Crested Ibis as Endangered.
What does the Crested Ibis eat?
Main food: Fish, shrimp & shellfish.
What family is the Crested Ibis in?
It belongs to the family Ibises, Spoonbills (Threskiornithidae), order Pelecaniformes.
At a glance
- Length
- 75 cm
- Wingspan
- 130 cm
- Weight
- 1.9 kg
- Habitat
- Wetland
- Diet
- Fish, shrimp & shellfish
- Lifestyle
- Active on the ground
- Migration
- Resident (barely migrates)
- Conservation
- Endangered
More measurements
- Wing
- 393 mm
- Tail
- 145 mm
- Bill
- 169 mm
- Tarsus
- 78 mm
Averages from the AVONET dataset; length from field guides where available.
Range
Palearctic: northeastern China
Breeding range, IOC World Bird List 15.2
Classification
- Order
- Pelecaniformes
- Family
- Ibises, Spoonbills Threskiornithidae
- Genus
- Nipponia
More from the family Ibises, Spoonbills
African Sacred IbisThreskiornis aethiopicus
Malagasy Sacred IbisThreskiornis bernieri
Black-headed IbisThreskiornis melanocephalus
Australian White IbisThreskiornis molucca
Straw-necked IbisThreskiornis spinicollis
Red-naped IbisPseudibis papillosa
White-shouldered IbisPseudibis davisoni
Giant IbisPseudibis gigantea
Northern Bald IbisGeronticus eremita
Southern Bald IbisGeronticus calvus
Download illustration
Free to use with credit: “Illustration: Bird Album (birdalbum.com)”. Drawn by AI from a reference photo by belvedere04. ↗
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