This article needs additional citations for verification .(September 2014) |
Balearica | |
---|---|
| |
Grey crowned crane (Balearica regulorum) | |
Scientific classification ![]() | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Gruiformes |
Family: | Gruidae |
Subfamily: | Balearicinae |
Genus: | Balearica Brisson, 1760 |
Type species | |
Ardea pavonina [1] Linnaeus, 1758 | |
Species | |
See text | |
Synonyms | |
|
The bird genus Balearica (also called the crowned cranes or Balearic cranes) contains two extant species in the crane family Gruidae: the black crowned crane (B. pavonina) and the grey crowned crane (B. regulorum). [2]
The species today occur only in Africa, south of the Sahara Desert, and are the only cranes that can nest in trees. This habitat is one reason the relatively small Balearica cranes are believed to closely resemble the ancestral members of the Gruidae.
Like all cranes, they eat insects, reptiles, and small mammals.
The genus Balearica was erected by the French zoologist Mathurin Jacques Brisson in 1760 with the black crowned crane (Balearica pavonina) as the type species. [3] [4] [5] The name is from the Latin Baliaricus for "of the Balearic Islands". [6]
The crane family (Gruidae) is divided into the subfamily Gruinae of typical cranes and the subfamily Balearicinae of crowned cranes. [7]
Common name | Scientific name and subspecies | Range | Size and ecology | IUCN status and estimated population |
---|---|---|---|---|
Black crowned crane | Balearica pavonina (Brisson, 1760) Two subspecies
| Africa south of the Sahara![]() | Size: Habitat: Diet: | VU
|
Grey crowned crane | Balearica regulorum (Bennett, 1834) Two subspecies
| East of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and in Uganda, Angola south to South Africa![]() | Size: Habitat: Diet: | EN
|
Crowned cranes seem to have been more widespread prehistorically. Compared to the true cranes, genus Grus , which were always common in the Holarctic and adjacent regions, the present genus appears to have had a more Atlantic distribution, ranging into Europe and North America; it is not known from the fossil record of Asia, as none have yet been discovered.
Garrulus is a genus of Old World jays, passerine birds in the family Corvidae.
Stilt is a common name for several species of birds in the family Recurvirostridae, which also includes those known as avocets. They are found in brackish or saline wetlands in warm or hot climates.
Pluvialis is a genus of plovers, a group of wading birds comprising four species that breed in the temperate or Arctic Northern Hemisphere.
The yellow-billed oxpecker is a passerine bird in the family Buphagidae. It was previously placed in the starling and myna family, Sturnidae.
The turquoise tanager is a medium-sized passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is a resident bird from Trinidad, much of Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela south to Bolivia. It is restricted to areas with humid forest, with its primary distribution being the Amazon. It was formerly treated as being conspecific with the white-bellied tanager which is found in the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil.
Glareola is a genus of birds in the family Glareolidae. The pratincoles are a group of birds consisting of the seven species of this genus and the Australian pratincole, the only species of the genus Stiltia.
Grus is a genus of large birds in the crane family.
Momotus is a small genus of the motmots, a family of near passerine birds found in forest and woodland of the Neotropics. They have a colourful plumage, which is green on the back becoming blue on the flight feathers and the long tails. The barbs near the ends of the two longest central tail feathers fall off, leaving a length of bare shaft so that tails appear racket-shaped.
Manucodes are birds-of-paradise in the genus Manucodia that are medium-sized with black-glossed purple and green plumages.
Mellisuga is a genus of hummingbirds in the family Trochilidae. They are notable for being the first and second smallest bird species in the world.
The goldenthroats are a small group of hummingbirds in the genus Polytmus.
Bucco is a genus of birds in the puffbird family Bucconidae. Birds in the genus are native to the Americas.
The red-tailed vanga is a species of bird in the family Vangidae. It is endemic to Madagascar.
Calicalicus is a genus of bird in the family Vangidae. It contains two species, both of which are endemic to Madagascar:
The spangled cotinga is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae, the cotingas. It is found in the canopy of the Amazon Rainforest in South America.
The plum-throated cotinga is a species of bird in the family Cotingidae. It is found in Bolivia, Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. Its natural habitats are subtropical or tropical moist lowland forest, subtropical or tropical swamps, and heavily degraded former forest.
Galbula is the type and largest genus of the jacamar family (Galbulidae) of piciform birds, and its suborder Galbulae. Sometimes, the Piciformes are split in two, with the Galbulae upranked to full order Galbuliformes.
Colius is a genus of mousebirds in the family Coliidae. The four species are widely distributed in Africa. Two other African mousebirds are placed in the genus Urocolius.
Cotinga is a genus of passerine birds belonging to the cotinga family, Cotingidae. It contains seven species that are found in tropical rainforest in South and Central America from southern Mexico to south-east Brazil. They feed mainly on fruit and forage high in trees.
The white-bellied tanager is a medium-sized passerine bird in the tanager family Thraupidae. It is a resident bird of the Atlantic Forest of eastern Brazil. It is restricted to areas with humid forest. It was formerly considered as a subspecies of the turquoise tanager.