The Southern Bald Ibis has a bare red crown and whitish bare face. It searches grasslands and fields in southern Africa for insects and nests on cliff ledges.
Adults have a bulging bare red crown and a whitish bare face and upper throat. The neck is dark and feathered. Dark body plumage has green and blue iridescence, with maroon and copper sheen on the shoulders.
In southern Africa it mainly forages in high-altitude grasslands and croplands, and also uses short grass. For breeding it uses ledges on cliffs, often above or near water.
It feeds mainly on insects and other small terrestrial invertebrates.
In South Africa, a clutch contains 1–3 eggs and incubation lasts 27–31 days.
Juveniles lack the adult iridescence and have a pale pink bill with a grey base. Immatures have a feathered dull grey-pink crown that is less domed than in adults.
Adult sexes have similar plumage, with males having longer bills and legs. A ruff of elongated feathers surrounds the base of the neck and is reduced outside breeding.
An extinction-risk assessment has not been added yet.