The Middle East's rarest bird fitted with satellite tags.

Update

• 10th August 2006, the birds are in the Yemen.
• October. The birds have now flown to the Ethiopian Highlands, almost 2000 miles from their starting point in Syria. 3 birds carrying satellite tags are feeding and sheltering above 2,600 metres in Ethiopia’s central highlands.
• Ethiopian conservationists found the trio and a 4th bird. In total, 13 bald ibis left Palmyra in July and scientists are hoping that the other birds will join them or are close by.
• Chris Bowden, bald ibis specialist at the RSPB, said: 'Knowing where these birds go and how they get there is a major breakthrough. They have been in Ethiopia since August and are likely to stay there until they return to Syria.
• 'We thought the birds would go to Yemen, Eritrea or Somalia and were surprised at the length of their journey and the speed with which they covered the distance. 'They have chosen their site well because Ethiopia is famous for its protection of wildlife and their last port of call was Yemen where the government is also supportive. This has answered a big question mark that remained for this species, and one that we feared we might never resolve.'

Bald ibis facts

• The project is funded by the RSPB, BirdLife International, the National Geographic Society and the Africa Eurasian Waterbird Agreement.
• The Syrian population of northern bald ibis is thought to be the last of a 1,000-strong group, which used to summer in the Middle East, probably at Birecik, south-east Turkey, 130 miles from Palmyra. It was thought that they flew to Yemen, Saudi Arabia and Eritrea for the winter but this was never established. A small, partially captive, population remains in Birecik. There are also captive populations in Austria and Italy.
• 3 pairs were found breeding near Palmyra in 2002. Two to three pairs have continued to breed; breeding birds were not recorded since 1928 in Palmyra.
• The population in Morocco has risen from 59 pairs in 1997 to over 100 pairs in 2006, breeding on the coastal cliffs in the Souss-Massa National Park.
• The Moroccan ibis remain in Morocco all year, and are protected by wardens. The Syrian birds are also well protected but migrate elsewhere for half the year and so are more vulnerable.
• The birds became extinct in Europe about 400 years ago, probably due to loss of habitat. There are ongoing, but so far unsuccessful, projects to re-introduce wild populations into Austria and Spain.
• There are twenty nine species of ibis, a distant relative of storks and herons. The northern bald ibis is different from the rest as it seeks semi-desert rather than wetlands to breed. In Palmyra, its diet of insects and lizards is unavailable in winter so the birds migrate to seek food elsewhere. The Souss-Massa area in Morocco is warmer so the birds remain year round.
• The northern bald ibis (Geronticus eremita) is 70 - 80 cm long. It is mostly black but has iridescent tints of blue, green and copper. It has a bal red, naked face and crown. It is mostly silent but hisses and grunts at nest and in display. For further details on its status and distribution see: www.birdlife.org .
• Palmyra, known locally as Tadmor, is in the middle of the Syrian Desert, 150 miles north east of Damascus. It has been ruled by Assyrians, Greeks and Romans. The city’s best known ruler, Queen Zenobia, fought against the Romans. The city ruins cover 6 square kilometres and are a major tourist attraction.