Common Name: Garbage Patch Itsumade
Scientific Name: Ixobrychus plastica itsumadae
Specimen Length: 196mm
Specimen Sex: Female
First Described: AD 2058
Description and Habitat: The Garbage Patch Itsumade’s ornithological ancestor, the Little Bittern, was originally native to the Old World, breeding and highly migratory throughout Africa, Europe, Asia and Madagascar, but this bird-insect hybrid has evolved to successfully inhabit the oceanic garbage patches found throughout the world’s seas and has now become endemic to these vast areas. No longer migratory, they travel by hitching a ride on oceanic flotsam, their four legs and float-like feet giving them sufficient stability to walk on top of the most compact parts of the enmeshed trash.
Named after the eerie Itsumade bird from Japanese folklore (so called for its horrible cry of “Itsumademo?” which means “Until when?”, the birds appearing to ask “How long will this suffering go unnoticed?”), Ixobrychus plastica itsumadae is crepuscular, skulking for food during the twilight hours and is normally solitary. It feeds on small insects, algae, amphibians and microplastics caught within the highly complex garbage patch structure.
Reproduction: The male claims a territory in the spring, advertising his presence with a distinctive screeching call and the monogamous pair remain together for at least one breeding season. Eggs are generally laid in as densely vegetated an area as can be found, glued to a submerged article by their protective gelatinous outer layer. Females typically carry 10-20 eggs (NB: see back end of this specimen’s abdomen is heavily pregnant and in the process of laying eggs), the shell composition made up of approximately 60% plastic-based compounds enabling them to survive being suspended in water for extended periods, or ejection from the nest as often happens during frequent hurricane conditions. The eggs are incubated for 17–19 days and the nymphs are fledged after 25–30 days having gone through five instar stages or moulting periods.
Life Span: Approximately 8 years.
