Trivia question for Jul-11-2011

Carter found these huge birds interesting as he did his research.  Lets see how he does with today’s trivia.  A chicken-sized bird that thrives in a variety of habitats, often nesting near humans.

An adult individual is 68 cm long with all-white body plumage apart from dark plumes on the rump. The bald head and neck, thick curved bill and legs are black. The white wings show a black rear border in flight. Sexes are similar, but juveniles have dirty white plumage, a smaller bill and some feathering on the neck. This bird is usually silent, but occasionally makes some croaking noises.

So here are Carter’s questions:  Tell us what this bird is and where they can be found.  Also, the Ancient Egyptians considered theses birds to be the earthly symbol of Thoth, the god of writing and wisdom.  Accordingly, live birds were kept in temples and later buried with pharaohs.  Tell us how many mummified bodies of these birds were discovered in Ancient Egyptian catacombs?

Good Luck 😉

Answer:

Congratulations to our friend Petr Major from Hořovice city in the Czech Republic for being the first with the correct answer. The long beaked bird we featured is the Sacred Ibis. The Sacred Ibis is also known as the African Sacred Ibis.

These birds can be found in sub-Saharan Africa, southeastern Iraq, and formerly in Egypt, where it was venerated and often mummified as a symbol of the god Thoth. The mummified bodies of 1.5 million sacred ibises were discovered in Ancient Egyptian catacombs.

The African Sacred Ibis occurs in marshy wetlands and mud flats, both inland and on the coast. It will also visit cultivation and rubbish dumps.  Here is more on these special birds: Sacred Ibis