Prick-Eared

Recently, Xenicibis xympithecus, a flightless ibis, was credited with using its wings as clubs on the island of Jamaica after discovery of broken bones on the island. Now, usually flightless birds have reduced limbs, but apparently this Caribbean flightless is one of the few who retained theirs.

See, since Jamaica was home to quite a number of predators, it is entirely possible these grounded birds retained their limbs for clobbering their foes. Now using wings as clubs isn’t really new. Many dogs and cats learn not to mess with swans, especially trumpeter swans; the same can be said about Canadian geese– that is if the dog is lucky enough to escape alive. Also, modern ibises are known to grab hold of other birds’ beaks or necks and procedure to beat them down with their wings.

via bbc.co.uk (Image: Nicholas Longrich, Yale University)

Looking at the skeletal wing above, I can see why someone would conclude it’s either a defense mechanism or a way to settle sexual rituals and territorial disputes. It must be fascinating to see these birds in the Late Piestocene. I have to wonder, unlike the other insular flightless birds who went extinct with the arrivals of Polynesians and Europeans, would these clubbing ibises have a better chance up against the rats, pigs and cats? But since humans arrived on the island of Jamaica long before feral critters of the Old World arrived, we shall never know.

One can download the open-access paper from the Royal Society.