Asian crested ibises have been revered and reviled at different times throughout Japanese history, but the endangered birds with long, curved bills; red faces and legs; and pink tinged wings are getting the royal treatment once again.
On Sunday, the Japanese crown prince and princess attended a ceremony commemorating the release of eight crested ibises into the wild on Honshu, the country’s main island. It had been more than a half-century since the last such wild creature flew freely there, and the royals’ presence at the event signaled just how far these creatures have come in recent decades.
Once widespread in Japan and beyond, crested ibises went from being fairly commonplace in the country to being on the verge of extinction. They are now seen as a symbol of successful conservation efforts and of international diplomacy.
The crested ibis, known as “Toki” in Japanese, was native to Japan and, once upon a time, flew freely in the wild there, as well as in China, Korea and Russia.
References to the birds and their colorful underfeathers appeared in Japanese historical texts going as far back as at least the eighth century, including in the ancient text “Nihon Shoki,” or “Chronicles of Japan,” penned in 720.
Written with the characters “peach-flower bird,” a reference to the tinge under its wings, the crested ibis’s name appeared on imperial tombs, and its feathers also later figured in certain important ceremonies.
Records from the Edo period, from the early 1600s to about the mid-1800s, also refer to the crested ibis occasionally. It shows up in complaints to local magistrates that the birds were ruining crops, and they were named in songs sung by children to drive wild birds from fields.
In the Meiji era, starting in the late 19th century, things got very bad for these birds. Hunting became increasingly popular, and the birds were sought for their meat, which was considered a cold remedy and good for nutrition after childbirth. The tinged feathers were also used in bedding, crafts, brooms, arrows and more.
At the same time, the bird’s preferred habitats — rice paddies in mountainous areas — were disappearing while chemical pesticides were also being introduced in farming, dealing a double blow to the creatures whose primary prey, small fish and frogs, began dwindling, as well.
By 1952, when the Japanese government declared the crested ibis a “special natural treasure,” it appeared to be too late.
Although conservation efforts began in Japan in the late 1960s and plans to breed them started soon after, very few of the birds were left in the wild. By 1981, the five last wild crested ibises in Japan had been captured for a national breeding program, but most quickly died in captivity
A miracle was needed save the species.
As luck would have it, that same year, conservationists in China, who were working on documenting the extinction of the crested ibis in their country, came upon seven such birds: two adult pairs and three fledglings. Those birds would go on to save their species from extinction.
China began a successful breeding program at the Beijing Zoo, and in 1985 it lent out one of its crested ibises, genetically identical to the Japanese birds, to help Japan’s plans. That effort failed, however, and in 2003, the last wild Japanese-born crested ibis died.
Still, China transferred two more of its crested ibises to Japan in 1999, and soon after, three more birds made the journey. Japan, for its part, pledged to send half of the young birds born on its soil to China.
Over time, the birds have bounced back.
About a decade later, crested ibises bred in the Japanese conservation program began being released into the wild. And last year, Japan’s environment ministry said it would release crested ibises in Honshu, the country’s largest and most populous island, for the first time as part of a wider push to release crested ibises throughout the country.
Still, becoming free is not always easy for the birds.
Before they are released, each crested ibis must pass three months of acclimatization training, learning to operate in an environment that simulates the wild. Health concerns prompted conservationists to pull one bird planned for release on Sunday from the program in April, according to officials. They are asking everyone to keep an eye out for the released birds, and to turn in observations about their travels.
The birds’ release in Honshu signified the expansion of a program that has helped to bring the rare bird back from the brink in Japan. As of late December, there were about 500 crested ibises in the country, according to the environment ministry, with more on the way.
Earlier in the spring, officials from the environmental ministry’s field office on Sado Island noted that some crested ibis pairs had begun the rituals of building nests and incubating eggs.
Others were still in the wooing stages, searching for a suitable mate.
Ephrat Livni is a Times reporter covering breaking news around the world. She is based in Washington.
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