Sacred Ibis

In the previous post, I was asked in the comments why the ibis are sacred. I had never questioned it, but it is really interesting to find out the answer, and to read more about these graceful birds.

"This species is now extinct in Egypt where it was venerated in ancient times. The ancient Egyptians believed that their god Thoth sometimes came to earth in the form of a Sacred Ibis. Thoth, a scribe of the gods, was the inventor of writing and measurer of time who symbolized wisdom and knowledge. This ibis is depicted in many murals and mummified specimens are common in burial places; over 1.5 million birds were found in one group of tombs."


This is from the Oakland Zoo website (California) http://www.oaklandzoo.org/ which has many interesting pages on its own animals.

Another blog reader sent me a link to information about mummified ibises, which you can see at the British Museum website, with a fascinating photo. And here is an image of Thoth, taken from Wikipedia.