Northern Bald Ibis - in Culture

In Culture

According to local legend in the Birecik area, the Northern Bald Ibis was one of the first birds that Noah released from the Ark as a symbol of fertility, and a lingering religious sentiment in Turkey helped the colonies there to survive long after the demise of the species in Europe, as described above.

This ibis was revered as a holy bird and a symbol of brilliance and splendour in Ancient Egypt, where, together with the Sacred Ibis, it was regarded as a reincarnation of Thoth, scribe of the gods, who was usually depicted with a man's body and the head of an ibis. The Old Egyptian word akh, "to be resplendent, to shine", was denoted in hieroglyphs by a Bald Ibis, presumably as a reference to its glossy plumage. In a more abstract sense, akh stood for excellence, glory, honour, and virtue. It has also been used to signify the soul or spirit, one of five elements constituting personality.

Herodotus wrote of the man-eating Stymphalian birds, which had wings of brass and sharp metallic feathers they could fire at their victims. Ridding Lake Stymphalia in Arcadia of these creatures was one of the twelve labours of Heracles. These mythical birds are sometimes considered to be based on the Northern Bald Ibis, but since they were described as marsh birds, and usually depicted without crests, the legendary species is more likely to be derived from the Sacred Ibis. Some depictions, such as the 6th century BC Athenian black-figure amphora in the British Museum, clearly show the black head and white body of the latter species. After the Bald Ibis became extinct in Central Europe, some later writers thought that Gesner's description was itself one of several in his book depicting mythical creatures.

The bird painted in 1490 in one of the Gothic frescoes in the Holy Trinity Church in Hrastovlje (now southwestern Slovenia) in the Karst by John of Kastav was most probably the Northern Bald Ibis. It is believed that it had also been depicted at other places in Istria and Dalmatia, where it was presumably endemic in the Middle Ages, e.g. in the local church in Gradišče pri Divači and in the coat of arms of the noble family Elio from Koper. The portal of Lukovec Castle in Lukovica pri Brezovici (central Slovenia) also features this species.

Several countries have produced postage stamps which depict the Northern Bald Ibis. They include Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, Syria, Turkey, and Yemen, which are breeding or migration locations; Austria, which is seeking to reintroduce the bird; and Jersey, which has a small captive population.