An extremely rare bird found only on the island of São Tomé in the Gulf of Guinea. This stocky ibis has muted olive-brown upperparts with bronze and greenish sheens, a darker head, and a relatively long curved bill for probing forest-floor invertebrates. It lives in lowland primary forest, often below 450 meters in elevation, favouring forest floors with sparse undergrowth and near watercourses, especially areas where the soil has been disturbed by wild pigs or root-foraging mammals.

Behaviorally, the São Tomé ibis is shy and largely nocturnal or crepuscular, moving quietly among leaf litter in search of snails, slugs, insects, and other small forest invertebrates. When disturbed, it may give soft grunts, and at dusk or dawn, it produces harsher honking or “kah-gah” style calls as it heads to roost in trees high above the ground. Nests are placed in tree hollows or high branches, constructed of twigs, leaves, and feathers, and sometimes located over or near water to reduce predation risk.

Sadly, the São Tomé ibis is listed as Critically Endangered. Its population is extremely small, and it survives only in scattered forest fragments in the southern part of the island. The largest threats are forest loss and degradation (for example, for oil-palm, cacao, coffee plantations, timber, and firewood), introduced predators such as rats, feral cats, dogs, Mona monkeys, and civets that can prey on eggs and chicks, and hunting (since the bird forages on the ground and is relatively easy to catch). Because the species needs an undisturbed forest with quiet forest-floor habitat, even selective logging or minor disturbance can have outsized impacts.

Distribution

Country

Population est.

Status

Year

Comments

São Tomé & Príncipe

190-2,500

Official estimate

CR

2020

Sâo Tomé