Skip to content

Black-headed Ibis Recolonization Reported in Bangladesh

Black-headed ibis hunting a crab in wetland habitat
Conservation · Population & status

A 2026 note in the Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society reports what the authors describe as recolonization of the black-headed ibis (Threskiornis melanocephalus) in Bangladesh. The same publication also reports the country’s first confirmed breeding records of glossy ibis (Plegadis falcinellus).

The recolonization claim is notable against the species’ recent national history. Bangladesh’s Red List describes black-headed ibis as a former resident that bred in the country up to the 1980s but subsequently became mainly a winter migrant. The Red List also records the species as Vulnerable nationally, with annual counts indicating a population well below 1,000 birds.

Historically, black-headed ibises bred communally in mixed-species heronries in Bangladesh. In more recent decades they have usually been recorded in small winter flocks, especially on coastal mudflats, marshes and large wetland systems. The 2026 authors therefore present their new documentation as recolonization rather than simply another winter occurrence.

The same note’s first confirmed breeding records of glossy ibis add a second change in the breeding status of ibises in Bangladesh. Together, the two records show that the country’s wetlands are again being used for breeding or renewed settlement by ibis species whose recent national status had been more limited.

Sources and image credit

  1. Sadik, A. S., Sher-E-Afgan, M., Akter, R., Al Sadman, A., Khan, M. M. H., Hasan, M. K., Mohsanin, S., & Datta, A. K. (2026). First confirmed breeding records of Glossy Ibis Plegadis falcinellus and recolonization of Black-Headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus in Bangladesh. Journal of the Bombay Natural History Society, 123(1). https://doi.org/10.17087/jbnhs/2026/v123/171158Primary publication, published 21 May 2026. Reports the first confirmed breeding records of glossy ibis and recolonization of black-headed ibis in Bangladesh.
  2. IUCN Bangladesh. (2015). Red List of Bangladesh, Volume 3: Birds — Threskiornis melanocephalus.Background source cited for the species’ national status: formerly resident, later mainly a winter migrant, assessed as Vulnerable in Bangladesh.

Image: M Murtoza Sarwar / Spriha Photography / Wikimedia Commons — wild Black-headed Ibis hunting a crab in Bangladesh, 10 January 2015; representative Bangladesh image, not one of the birds documented in the 2026 note · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Source

About this content: This story was produced with AI assistance within an editorial workflow developed by Wildlife Vagabond. Editorial responsibility remains with Wildlife Vagabond.How AI is used

Population & status

SPECIES IN THIS STORY

Species in this story

Black-headed Ibis Threskiornis melanocephalus Explore species

Independent research and conservation news archive

Did you find this information useful?

Wildlife Vagabond is independently built and maintained. Voluntary support helps cover source verification, hosting and continued work on research and conservation news.

Support Wildlife Vagabond

The news archive will remain freely available.