Like other ibis species, the Asian crested ibis uses its long beak to probe shallow water and dense grasses in search of food (6). A wide range of small animals feature in its diet, including crabs, frogs, fish, beetles, earthworms, river snails, and other molluscs (2) (4) (9).
During the nesting season, breeding pairs become territorial and usually choose a nesting site near to good feeding grounds. The nest is a flimsy, twig platform built in the fork of a large tree, at heights of up to 25 metres above the ground. Each year, around March and April, a single clutch of one to five eggs is laid and incubated
by both the male and female for 28 days. At the end of the breeding season, the young leave the nesting sites, while the adults rejoin non-territorial flocks (2) (9)
Although the surviving population is essentially non-migratory, only making small movements to higher altitudes in the summer, historically, some populations from Russia and north-east China did migrate to Korea over winter (9)