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COMPARATIVE ETHOLOGY OF THE CICONIIDAE. THE WOOD‐STORKS (GENERA MYCTERIA AND IBIS) *
Author(s) -
Kahl M. P.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
ibis
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.933
H-Index - 80
eISSN - 1474-919X
pISSN - 0019-1019
DOI - 10.1111/j.1474-919x.1972.tb02586.x
Subject(s) - ibis , courtship , biology , genus , courtship display , nest (protein structural motif) , zoology , ecology , ethogram , biochemistry
Summary This paper reports on an 11‐year study of the comparative behaviour of the four species of wood‐storks. All species were studied under natural conditions at breeding colonies in the U.S.A., East Africa, India, and Indonesia. In addition, observations were made on hand‐reared young of two species (Mycteria americana and Ibis ibis). Various aspects of signal (display) and non‐signal behaviour are described. The most common ritualised display away from the nest is the Forward Threat. At the neBt, the following displays are seen, mainly during courtship and pair‐formation: Aerial Clattering Threat, Forward Clattering Threat, Snap Display, Anxiety Stretch, Flying Around, Gaping, Balancing Posture, Swaying Twig‐Grasping, Display Preening, Up‐Down, and Copulation Clattering. Each of these patterns is described in the text and many of them are illustrated. The four species treated here are similar to each other in most behaviour patterns. They do show some quantitative differences in courtship displays, particularly in the Up‐Down, a common “greeting” display shown to the mate at the nest. The behavioural and morphological evidence now available does not justify the separation of M. americana into a monotypic genus, and I suggest that all four wood‐storks be combined in the genus Mycteria. Thus, the wood‐storks include: M. americana, M. cinerea, M. ibis , and M. leucocephala.