Day Five: Japanese Crested Ibis (Nipponia Nippon)

Name: Nipponia Nippon (Japanese Crested Ibis). Also goes by the name Toki or Crested Ibis.

Classification: Genus - Nipponia
                         Family - Threskiornithidae
                         Order -  Ciconiiformes
                         Class -  Aves
                         Phylum - Chordata
                         Kingdom - Animalia

Location: Today the Toki is only know to be found in the Shaanxi province of China. It was once widespread 
throughout Japan, Korea, China, and Russia.

IUCN Red List Status: Endangered. In the 1960's, the Toki was thought to be exctinct. It wasn't until 1981 when 
a small popluation of 7 were found in China. Since then they have been under heavy protection and around 130 colonies
can be found in China.

General Information: The toki prefers wetlands over dry woodland areas where it can easily find fish frogs, and 
other small insects. The mating season typically runs between April and May and will lay anywhere between 2-4 eggs at a time.
Hatchlings will stay with both parents until about 40 days.
The biggest threat to the Toki is due to habitat loss and agricultural chemicals. This is the explanation for the drastic decline
when they were once thought extinct. In recent years, both China and Japan have been working to protect this species 

and help breeding through artificial and natural incubation.

 












References: 
http://www.earthsendangered.com/profile.asp?gr=B&view=c&ID=3&sp=205 
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crested_Ibis