Nesting Hadada Ibis in Nairobi, Kenya

The Hadada Ibis is native to Kenya, and is also widespread across East Africa from South Africa to Ethiopia. The Hadada Ibis (Bostrychia hagedash) is quite large at about 76 centimetres (30 inches). It has grey to iridescent purple feathers, dark grey legs, and a large grey bill with a red stripe on the upper beak.

It likes savanna and wetlands, and is often found in urban parks and gardens, and school ovals. It also likes large trees, such as loquat trees. The Hadada Ibis feeds on earthworms and insects.

MARTINA NICOLLS is an international aid and development consultant, and the author of:- The Shortness of Life: A Mongolian Lament (2015), Liberia’s Deadest Ends (2012), Bardot’s Comet (2011), Kashmir on a Knife-Edge (2010) and The Sudan Curse (2009).

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