Food of Sacred Ibis Threskiornis aethiopicus nestlings in the Free State province, South Africa

A total of 88 regurgitated pellets and 47 stomachs collected from Sacred Ibis chicks was analysed. The hulk of the food consisted of frogs (mainly Rana angolensis and Xenopus laevis), crabs Potamon warreni, larvae of Calliphoridae and Sphingidae and images of Coleoptera. Such inorganic materials as gravel, pieces of glass and plastic were also recorded. Analyses of stomach contents showed that during the first 10 days of life the nestlings fed mainly on crabs and the images of Coleoptera and later mainly on the larvae of Sphingidae and imagos of Coleoptera. There were marked differences in nestling food between two breeding seasons at the same site. The proportion of larvae of Calliphoridae, pupae and larvae of Sphingidae and frogs was higher in pellets than in stomachs collected during the same breeding season from the same site.