Extinct Animals : Japanese Crested Ibis

Until the late 1800s, this ibis nested over a huge area of mainland Asia and Japan. With the cutting of pine woodlands, where it nested, and the use of pesticides in rice paddies and marshlands, which were its feeding grounds, the bird’s numbers declined drastically. It is now designated in Japan as a Special Bird for Protection, and in Korea as National Treasure No. 198. It also has full legal protection in the former USSR. Currently, there are about 40 birds in the wild which survive in South Shaanxi, China.