Brolga

Last updated

Brolga
Brolga-1-Healesville,-Vic,-3.1.2008 edit.jpg
Brolga (Antigone rubicunda), Healesville Sanctuary, Victoria
CITES Appendix II (CITES) [2]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Class: Aves
Order: Gruiformes
Family: Gruidae
Genus: Antigone
Species:
A. rubicunda
Binomial name
Antigone rubicunda
(Perry, 1810)
Antigone rubicunda dist.png
Distribution in red
Synonyms [3]
  • Ardea rubicunda
  • Grus antarctica Illiger, 1816
  • Mathewsia rubicunda (Iredale, 1911)
  • Grus rubicundus
  • Grus australasianus

The brolga (Antigone rubicunda), formerly known as the native companion, is a bird in the crane family. It has also been given the name Australian crane, a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithologist John Gould in his Birds of Australia . [4]

Contents

The brolga is a common, gregarious wetland bird species of tropical and south-eastern Australia and New Guinea. It is a tall, upright bird with a small head, long beak, slender neck, and long legs. Its plumage is mainly grey, with black wing tips, and it has an orange-red band on its head. The brolga's courting dance is similar to that of other cranes. The nest is built of wetland vegetation, either on an elevated piece of land or floating on shallow water in marshland, and usually two eggs are laid. Incubation takes 32 days, and the newly hatched young are precocial. The adult diet is omnivorous and includes plant matter, invertebrates, and small vertebrates. [5]

Although the bird is not considered endangered over the majority of its range, populations are showing some decline, especially in southern Australia, and local action plans are being undertaken in some areas. [6] It has featured on the Queensland coat of arms since 1977 and was formally declared as the bird emblem of the state in 1986. [7]

Taxonomy

An 1865 brolga illustration from Birds of Australia by John Gould John Gould Australian brolga.jpg
An 1865 brolga illustration from Birds of Australia by John Gould

When first described by the naturalist George Perry in 1810, the brolga was misclassified as a species of Ardea, [3] the genus that includes the herons and egrets. It is, in fact, a member of the Gruiformes—the order that includes the crakes, rails, and cranes, and a member of the genus Antigone . [8] Ornithologist John Gould used the name Grus australasianus when he wrote about it and noted it to be widespread in the north and east of Australia. He also recorded that it was easy to tame, and that James Macarthur had kept a pair at his home in Camden. Calling it the Australian crane, he mentioned that its early colonial name had been native companion. [4] The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union made brolga, a popular name derived from Gamilaraay burralga, the official name for the bird in 1926. [9]

In 1976, it was suggested that the brolga, sarus crane (Antigone antigone), and white-naped crane (Antigone vipio) formed a natural group on the basis of similarities in their calls. This was further confirmed by molecular studies of their DNA. [10] These also showed that the brolga is more closely related to the white-naped crane than it is to the morphologically more similar sarus crane. [9]

The brolga was formerly placed in the genus Grus , but a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that the genus, as then defined, was polyphyletic. [11] In the resulting rearrangement to create monophyletic genera, four species, including the brolga, were placed in the resurrected genus Antigone that had originally been erected by German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1853 [8] [12]

Two subspecies were suspected to exist: A. r. argentea found in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and western Queensland and A. r. rubicunda, occurring in New Guinea, Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria, and South Australia. [5] However, mitochondrial analyses have shown both populations sharing haplotypes indicating that they are a single taxon, though microsatellite markers show limited gene flow between the two populations. [13]

Description

The brolga is a tall bird with a large beak, a long and slender neck, and stilt-like legs. The sexes are indistinguishable in appearance, though females are usually a little smaller. [14] The adult has a grey-green, skin-covered crown, and the face, cheeks, and throat pouch are also featherless and are coral red. Other parts of the head are olive green and clothed in dark bristles. The gular pouch, which is particularly pendulous in adult males, is covered with such dense bristles as to make it appear black. The beak is greyish-green in adult birds, long and slender, and the irises are yellowish-orange. The ear coverts appear as a grey patch of small feathers surrounded by red naked skin and the body plumage is silvery-grey. The feathers on the back and the wing coverts have pale margins. The primary wing feathers are black and the secondaries grey. The legs and feet are greyish-black. Juveniles lack the red band and have fully feathered heads with dark irises. A fully grown brolga can reach a height of 0.7 to 1.4 m (2 ft 4 in to 4 ft 7 in) and has a wingspan of 1.7 to 2.4 m (5 ft 7 in to 7 ft 10 in). Adult males have an average body mass of 6.8 kg (15 lb) with females averaging 5.66 kg (12.5 lb). The weight can range from 3.6 to 8.7 kg (7.9 to 19.2 lb). [4] [5] [15] [16] Heights up to 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) in male brolga have been reported but presumably need confirmation. [17] The brolga is the heaviest flying bird regularly found in mainland Australia, averaging slightly higher in body mass than other large resident species such as black swan, Australian pelican and the Australian race of sarus crane (Asian sarus cranes are heavier and significantly taller). Brolgas are as well as much heavier on average than the biggest flying land birds such as the very sexually-dimorphic Australian bustard and wedge-tailed eagle), although heavier birds such as wandering albatross may be seen as marine vagrants off the mainland. [15] Brolgas probably rival black-necked storks and sarus cranes as the tallest flying birds in Australia. [4] [5]

The brolga can easily be confused with the sarus crane, but the latter's red head-colouring extends partly down the neck, while the brolga's is confined to the head. The brolga is more silvery-grey in colour than the sarus, the legs are blackish rather than pink, and the trumpeting and grating calls it makes are at a lower pitch. Additionally, in Australia, sarus crane distribution is limited to north-eastern areas, compared to the more widespread distribution of the brolga. [5]

Head and neck-Brogla.jpg

Distribution and habitat

Close up of the head Brolga head.jpg
Close up of the head

Brolgas are widespread and often abundant in north and north-east Australia, especially north-east Queensland, and are common as far south as Victoria. They are also found in southern New Guinea and as rare vagrants in New Zealand and the northern part of Western Australia. The population in northern Australia is estimated at between 20,000 and 100,000 birds and in southern Australia, 1,000 birds. The number of individuals in New Guinea is unknown. [18] Until 1961, brolgas were thought to be the only species of crane in Australia, until the sarus crane was also located in Queensland. [19]

Brolga movements in Australia are poorly understood, though seasonal flocks are observed in eastern Queensland in nonbreeding areas regularly, and a few coastal populations are suspected to move up to 500 km (310 mi) inland. [18] Little is known of the movements and habitats of the New Guinea populations. [18]

Further south, in Victoria and New South Wales, rainfall is spread more evenly throughout the year and the driest season lasts from December to May. At this time, southern populations congregate in inland flocking areas, which include upland marshes, the edges of reservoirs and lakes, pastures, and agricultural land. When rain arrives in June and July, they disperse to the coastal freshwater marshes, shallow lakes, wet meadows, and other wetlands where they breed. [18] In south-west Victoria, breeding sites during and immediately after spring are freshwater wetlands, while freshwater, brackish and saline wetland sites are used for flocking during the autumn. [20]

Queensland has the greatest numbers of brolgas, and sometimes flocks of over 1,000 individuals are seen. [21] The bird is the official bird emblem for the state and also appears on its coat of arms. [22] Breeding pairs and flocks are distributed across several floodplains along the Gulf of Carpentaria. [23] Brolgas here preferentially use two grassland-dominated regional ecosystems (2.3.1 and 2.3.4), though over 30% of the cranes share four additional Eucalyptus-dominated woodland regional ecosystems with sarus cranes. Brolga numbers were highest in floodplains where grassland habitats dominated, and the largest flocks were also found in grassland habitats. [23]

Ecology and behaviour

A pair of brolgas amongst other waterbirds in the Northern Territory Brolga2.jpg
A pair of brolgas amongst other waterbirds in the Northern Territory

The social unit of brolgas is very similar to that observed in sarus cranes. In breeding areas, breeding pairs defend territories against other brolgas, and when breeding efforts are successful, they remain in territories with one or two chicks. [23] Nonbreeding birds, being young birds of past years as well as adults that do not yet have breeding territories, are also found in breeding areas, likely throughout the year. In the nonbreeding season, they gather into large flocks, which appear to be many self-contained individual groups rather than a single social unit. Within the flock, families sometimes remain separate and coordinate their activities with one another rather than with the flock as a whole. [5] In south-western Queensland, 26–40% of all crane sightings were breeding pairs and families in the Gilbert and Flinders river floodplains. [23] Flocks were relatively rarer, but birds in flocks in the Flinders river floodplain constituted 80% of all brolgas counted. In south-west Victoria, distinct breeding (spring) and flocking (autumn) seasons are noted. [20]

When taking off from the ground, their flight is ungainly, with much flapping of wings. The bird's black wingtips are visible while it is in the air, and once it gathers speed, its flight is much more graceful and it often ascends to great heights. Here, it may be barely discernible as it wheels in great circles, sometimes emitting its hoarse cry. [4]

Diet

Brolgas are omnivorous and forage in wetlands, saltwater marshes, and farmlands. They tear up the ground with their powerful beaks in search of bulbs and edible roots. [4] Northern populations have a very varied diet, with minimal contribution of vegetation. [23] They also eat the shoots and leaves of wetland and upland plants, cereal grains, seeds, insects, mollusks, crustaceans, frogs, and lizards. In saltwater marshes, they may drink saline water, as they have glands near their eyes through which they can excrete excess salt. [9] Isotopic analyses of molted feathers in their breeding grounds along the Gulf of Carpentaria showed their diet to be diverse across multiple trophic levels, with minimal contribution of vegetation. [23] Analyses showed strong niche separation between brolgas and sarus cranes by diet. Their diet in dry season flocks at Atherton Highlands likely are very different owing to the largely agricultural landscape.

Mating and breeding

Pair at nest at Healesville Sanctuary near Melbourne Brolgas Healesville.jpg
Pair at nest at Healesville Sanctuary near Melbourne

Brolgas are monogamous and usually bond for life, though new pairings may follow the death of one individual. A feature of a bonded couple is the synchronous calling, which the female usually initiates. She stands with her wings folded and beak pointed to the sky and emits a series of trumpeting calls. The male stands alongside in a similar posture, but with his wings flared and primaries drooping, which is the only time when sex can be differentiated reliably. The male emits one longer call for every two emitted by the female. [9]

Brolgas are well known for their ritualised, intricate mating dances. The performance begins with a bird picking up some grass and tossing it into the air before catching it in its bill. The bird then jumps a metre (yard) into the air with outstretched wings and continues by stretching its neck, bowing, strutting around, calling, and bobbing its head up and down. Sometimes, just one brolga dances for its mate; often they dance in pairs; and sometimes a whole group of about a dozen dance together, lining up roughly opposite each other before they start. [5]

Egg of A. rubicunda Grus rubiconda MHNT 226.jpg
Egg of A. rubicunda

The brolga breeds throughout its range in Australia and New Guinea. The start of the breeding season is largely determined by rainfall rather than the time of year; thus, the season is February to May after the rainy season in the monsoonal areas, and September to December in southern Australia. [24] It is unclear whether all breeding pairs leave breeding territories to join flocks during the dry season or return the subsequent breeding season, and this behavior may vary with location. In food-rich habitats, nests can be quite close together, and in Queensland, are found in the same area as those of the sarus crane. The nest, which is built by both sexes, is a raised mound of uprooted grass, and other plant material sited on a small island in shallow water, or occasionally floating. Sometimes, the birds make hardly any nest, take over a disused swan nest, or simply lay on bare ground. [24] Nests were initiated between November and February in the Gilbert and Flinders River basins, and tracked rainfall episodes in each river basin. [23]

A single brood is produced per year. The clutch size is usually two, but occasionally one or three eggs [25] are laid about two days apart. The dull white eggs are sparsely spotted or blotched with reddish brown, with the markings being denser at the larger end of the egg. They measure 95 by 61 mm (3.7 by 2.4 in), though larger eggs were found in a clutch of three eggs. [24] [25] Both sexes incubate the eggs, with the female sitting on the nest at night. Hatching is not synchronised, and occurs after about 32 days of incubation. The newly hatched chicks are covered with grey down and weigh about 100 g (3.5 oz). They are precocial and are able to leave the nest within a day or two. Both parents feed and guard the young. The chicks fledge within 4–5 weeks, are fully feathered within 3 months, and are able to fly about 2 weeks later. When threatened, they hide and stay quiet, while the parents perform a broken-wing display to distract the predator. The adults continue to protect the young for up to 11 months, or for nearly 2 years if they do not breed again in the interim. [5] Breeding pairs maintain discrete territories within which they raise chicks. Territory sizes in Victoria, south-eastern Australia, ranged between 70 and 523 hectares, and each crane territory had a mix of farmland and wetlands. [26] Families roosted in wetlands at night, and moved an average distance of 442 m to and from these night roosts. Each family used multiple wetlands within their territories, either switching between them, or using wetlands sequentially. Breeding success of territorial pairs (estimated as percentage of pairs that successfully fledged at least one chick) was 59% in the Gilbert River basin and 46% in the Flinders River basin (using a total of 80 pairs located on territories), with 33% of all successful pairs fledging two chicks each. [23]

Conservation status

Brolgas on a corn field Brolgas on corn stubble.jpg
Brolgas on a corn field

The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the brolga as being of "least concern" because it has a large range and a population of more than 10,000 individuals. Although the population may be declining slowly, this is not at a rate that would warrant the brolga being included in a more vulnerable category. [1] Brolgas are not listed as threatened on the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999. However, their conservation status varies from state to state within Australia. For example, the brolga is listed as threatened under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988). [27] Under this Act, an Action Statement for the recovery and future management of this species has been prepared. It is also included in the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria where it is listed as vulnerable. [28]

The suspected chief threats faced by the brolga, particularly in the southern part of its range, are habitat destruction particularly spread of blue gum (Eucalyptus globulus) into breeding habitats, the drainage of wetlands, collision with powerlines, burning and grazing regimes, spread of invasive species, and harvesting of eggs. [6] It is more secure in the north-eastern part of its distribution range as the floodplains of Queensland are mostly unsuitable for farming and much of it is in private ownership, but development activities that change or reduce habitat diversity, especially in the Gulf Plains, can have unknown impacts on their populations. [23] Wind farms are an emerging threat, and research on movement and habitat use by breeding pairs and chicks show the importance of locating turbines away from wetlands important for night roosting. [26]

Conservation measures being undertaken include international cooperation, legal protection, research, monitoring, habitat management, education, and the maintenance of captive flocks for propagation and reintroduction. [18] Although the bird breeds well in the wild, breeding it in captivity has proved to be much more problematic. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Blue crane</span> Species of large bird from southern Africa also known as Stanley crane and paradise crane

The blue crane, also known as the Stanley crane and the paradise crane, is the national bird of South Africa. The species is listed as Vulnerable by the IUCN.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Crane (bird)</span> Family of large, long-legged birds

Cranes are a type of large bird with long legs and necks in the biological family Gruidae of the order Gruiformes. The family has 15 species placed in four genera which are Antigone, Balearica, Leucogeranus, and Grus. They are large birds with long necks and legs, a tapering form, and long secondary feathers on the wing that project over the tail. Most species have muted gray or white plumages, marked with black, and red bare patches on the face, but the crowned cranes of the genus Balearica have vibrantly-coloured wings and golden "crowns" of feathers. Cranes fly with their necks extended outwards instead of bent into an S-shape and their long legs outstretched.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Common crane</span> Species of bird also known as Eurasian crane

The common crane, also known as the Eurasian crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. A medium-sized species, it is the only crane commonly found in Europe besides the demoiselle crane and the Siberian crane that only are regular in the far eastern part of the continent. Along with the sandhill crane, demoiselle crane and the brolga, it is one of only four crane species not currently classified as threatened with extinction or conservation dependent on the species level. Despite the species' large numbers, local extinctions and extirpations have taken place in part of its range, and an ongoing reintroduction project is underway in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black crowned crane</span> Species of bird

The black crowned crane is a part of the family Gruidae, along with its sister species, the grey crowned crane. It is topped with its characteristic bristle-feathered golden crown. It is usually found in the shallow wetlands of sub-Saharan Africa during the wet season, which act as its principal breeding, feeding and roosting sites although it can also be found foraging in grasslands and near croplands of dry savanna.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Freckled duck</span> Species of bird

The freckled duck is a waterfowl species endemic to Australia. The freckled duck has also been referred to as the monkey duck or oatmeal duck. These birds are usually present in mainland Australia, but disperse to coastal and subcostal wetlands in the dry period. During such times it is common for the freckled duck population to congregate in flocks in the same area, giving the impression that they are more common than they really are.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wattled crane</span> Species of large bird from Africa

The wattled crane is a large, threatened species of crane found in wetlands and grasslands of eastern and southern Africa, ranging from Ethiopia to South Africa. It is sometimes placed in the monotypic genus Bugeranus.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sandhill crane</span> Species of bird

The sandhill crane is a species of large crane of North America and extreme northeastern Siberia. The common name of this bird refers to their habitat such as the Platte River, on the edge of Nebraska's Sandhills on the American Great Plains. Sandhill cranes are known to frequent the edges of bodies of water. The central Platte River valley in Nebraska is the most important stopover area for the nominotypical subspecies, the great sandhill crane, with up to 450,000 of these birds migrating through annually.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Whooping crane</span> Species of large bird from North America

The whooping crane is an endangered crane species, native to North America, named for its “whooping” calls. Along with the sandhill crane, it is one of only two crane species native to North America, and it is also the tallest North American bird species. The whooping crane's lifespan is estimated to be 22-24 years in the wild. After being pushed to the brink of extinction, due to unregulated hunting and loss of habitat, and just 21 wild cranes remaining by 1941, conservation efforts would lead to a partial recovery. The total number of cranes in the surviving migratory population, plus three reintroduced flocks and in-captivity, only slightly exceeds 800 birds as of 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Magpie goose</span> Species of bird

The magpie goose is the sole living representative species of the family Anseranatidae. This common waterbird is found in northern Australia and southern New Guinea. As the species is prone to wandering, especially when not breeding, it is sometimes recorded outside its core range. The species was once also widespread in southern Australia but disappeared from there largely due to the drainage of the wetlands where the birds once bred. Due to their importance to Aboriginal people as a seasonal food source, as subjects of recreational hunting, and as a tourist attraction, their expansive and stable presence in northern Australia has been "ensured [by] protective management".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Red-crowned crane</span> Species of large bird from East Asia

The red-crowned crane, also called the Manchurian crane, is a large East Asian crane among the rarest cranes in the world. In some parts of its range, it is known as a symbol of luck, longevity, and fidelity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Black-necked stork</span> Species of bird

The black-necked stork is a tall long-necked wading bird in the stork family. It is a resident species across the Indian Subcontinent and Southeast Asia with a disjunct population in Australia. It lives in wetland habitats and near fields of certain crops such as rice and wheat where it forages for a wide range of animal prey. Adult birds of both sexes have a heavy bill and are patterned in white and irridescent blacks, but the sexes differ in the colour of the iris with females sporting yellow irises and males having dark-coloured irises. In Australia, it is known as a jabiru although that name refers to a stork species found in the Americas. It is one of the few storks that are strongly territorial when feeding and breeding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Siberian crane</span> Species of bird

The Siberian crane, also known as the Siberian white crane or the snow crane, is a bird of the family Gruidae, the cranes. They are distinctive among the cranes: adults are nearly all snowy white, except for their black primary feathers that are visible in flight, and with two breeding populations in the Arctic tundra of western and eastern Russia. The eastern populations migrate during winter to China, while the western population winters in Iran and (formerly) in Bharatpur, India.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Apostlebird</span> Species of bird

The apostlebird, also known as the grey jumper, lousy jack or happy family, is a quick-moving, gray or black bird about 33 cm (13 in) long. It is a native to Australia where it roams woodlands, eating insects and seeds at, or near, ground level. Apostlebirds often travel in groups of about 12; for this reason, they were named after the 12 Biblical apostles.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Banded lapwing</span> Species of bird

The banded lapwing is a small to medium-sized shorebird, found in small parties or large flocks on bare ground in open grasslands, agricultural land and open savannah. It is native to Australia and in the past considered as a game bird for hunting. Population estimate is 25 000 - 1 000 000. Other names include banded, black-breasted, brown flock and plain plover.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Double-banded plover</span> Species of bird

The double-banded plover, known as the banded dotterel or pohowera in New Zealand, is a species of bird in the plover family. Two subspecies are recognised: the nominate Charadrius bicinctus bicinctus, which breeds throughout New Zealand, including the Chatham Islands, and Charadrius bicinctus exilis, which breeds in New Zealand's subantarctic Auckland Islands.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cranes of Great Britain</span>

Cranes are large, long-legged and long-necked birds of the order Gruiformes. Two species occur as wild birds in Great Britain: the common crane, a scarce migrant and very localised breeding resident currently being reintroduced to the country, and the sandhill crane, an extreme vagrant from North America. A third species, the demoiselle crane, has been recorded on a number of occasions, but these birds have not generally been accepted as being of wild origin.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Serendip Sanctuary</span>

Serendip Sanctuary is a 250 ha protected area in Victoria, Australia, near the You Yangs and the town of Lara, some 22 km (14 mi) north of Geelong and 60 km (37 mi) south-west of Melbourne. Originally used for farming and other purposes, it was purchased in 1959 by the State Government of Victoria for wildlife research and the captive management and breeding of species threatened in Victoria, such as the brolga, magpie goose, Australian bustard, and bush stone-curlew. The sanctuary contains many different types of wetland and is home to many plant species as well, such as river red gums, tall spikerush, and tussock grass. Serendip now focuses more on environmental education about the flora and fauna of the wetlands and open grassy woodlands of the Volcanic Western Plains of Victoria. It was opened to the public in 1991 and is now managed by Parks Victoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Australian pratincole</span> Species of bird

The Australian pratincole is a species of bird in the family Glareolidae. It breeds in Australia's interior and winters in northern and eastern parts of the continent, Indonesia and New Guinea. It is a medium-sized nomadic shorebird but is commonly found in arid inland Australia. It breeds predominantly from south-western Queensland to northern Victoria, and through central Australia to the Kimberley region in Western Australia. The Australian population is estimated at 60,000 individuals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sarus crane</span> Species of bird

The sarus crane is a large nonmigratory crane found in parts of the Indian subcontinent, Southeast Asia, and northern Australia. The tallest of the flying birds, standing at a height of up to 1.8 m, they are a conspicuous species of open wetlands in South Asia, seasonally flooded Dipterocarpus forests in Southeast Asia, and Eucalyptus-dominated woodlands and grasslands in Australia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eastern osprey</span> Subspecies of bird

The eastern osprey is a diurnal, fish-eating bird of prey. They live in Oceania at coastal regions of the Australian continent, the Indonesian islands, New Guinea, and the Philippines. It is usually sedentary and pairs breed at the same nest site, building up a substantial structure on dead trees or limbs. The subspecies resides in a habitat close to coasts and estuaries that provide opportunities for fishing. In 2022, it was considered a defunct species by the IOC, due to its low genetic divergences and absence in morphological differences. The eastern osprey's diet consists mostly of vertebrate fish species. It possesses specialised physical characteristics and exhibits unique behaviour to assist in hunting and catching prey.

References

  1. 1 2 BirdLife International (2016). "Antigone rubicunda". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species . 2016: e.T22692067A93335916. doi: 10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22692067A93335916.en . Retrieved 20 February 2022.
  2. ↑ "Appendices | CITES". cites.org. Retrieved 2022-01-14.
  3. 1 2 Australian Biological Resources Study (16 April 2014). "Species Grus (Mathewsia) rubicunda (Perry, 1810)". Australian Faunal Directory. Canberra, Australian Capital Territory: Department of the Environment, Water, Heritage and the Arts, Australian Government. Retrieved 29 June 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Gould, John (1865). Handbook to The birds of Australia, Volume 2. self. pp.  290–92. Gould Grus australasianus.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 Johnsgard, Paul (1983). "Cranes of the World: Australian Crane (Grus rubicundus)". Cranes of the World: 140–148.
  6. 1 2 Veltheim, Inka; Sundar, K.S. Gopi (2019). "Species review: Brolga (Grus rubicundus)". In Mirande, Claire M.; Harris, James T. (eds.). Crane Conservation Strategy. International Crane Foundation, Baraboo, USA. pp. 371–381.
  7. ↑ "Bird emblem". Queensland Government . Retrieved 26 July 2021.
  8. 1 2 Gill, Frank; Donsker, David, eds. (2019). "Flufftails, finfoots, rails, trumpeters, cranes, limpkin". World Bird List Version 9.2. International Ornithologists' Union. Retrieved 26 June 2019.
  9. 1 2 3 4 5 Veyret, Lynda (2008). "Brolga (Grus rubicunda): Husbandry Guidelines 2008" (PDF). Australasian Society of Zoo Keeping. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2012-12-24. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  10. ↑ Christidis, L.; Boles, W. E. (2008). Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. Canberra: CSIRO Publishing. p. 119. ISBN   978-0-643-06511-6.
  11. ↑ Krajewski, C.; Sipiorski, J.T.; Anderson, F.E. (2010). "Mitochondrial genome sequences and the phylogeny of cranes (Gruiformes: Gruidae)". Auk. 127 (2): 440–452. doi: 10.1525/auk.2009.09045 . S2CID   85412892.
  12. ↑ Reichenbach, Ludwig (1853). Handbuch der speciellen Ornithologie. Vol. 1. Leipzig: Friedrich Hofmeister. p. xxiii.
  13. ↑ Miller, Adam; Veltheim, Inka; Nevard, Timothy; Ming Gan, Han; Haase, Martin (2019). "Microsatellite loci and the complete mitochondrial DNA sequence characterised through next-generation sequencing and de novo genome assembly, and a preliminary assessment of population genetic structure for the Australian crane, Antigone rubicunda". Avian Biology Research. 12 (2): 49–58. doi:10.1177/1758155919832142. S2CID   92581541.
  14. ↑ Marchant & Higgins 1993, p. 470.
  15. 1 2 Dunning, John B. Jr., ed. (2008). CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses (2nd ed.). CRC Press. ISBN   978-1-4200-6444-5.
  16. ↑ Wilson, D., & Organ, A. (2015). The Use of Aerial Surveys for the Detection of the Brolga Grus rubicunda Through South-West Victoria: Key Considerations for the Wind Industry. In Wind and Wildlife (pp. 59-68). Springer, Dordrecht.
  17. ↑ Miller, A. (2016). The development of microsatellite loci through next generation sequencing, and a preliminary assessment of population genetic structure for the iconic Australian crane, Brolga (Antigone rubicunda). Nature Glenelg Trust, Warrnambool, Victoria.
  18. 1 2 3 4 5 "The Cranes: Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan". Status Survey and Conservation Action Plan. Northern Prairie Wildlife Research Center. Retrieved 2013-03-08.
  19. ↑ Gill, H.B. (1969). "First record of the Sarus Crane in Queensland". The Emu. 69: 49–52. doi:10.1071/MU969047d.
  20. 1 2 Sheldon, Rebecca A. (2005). "Breeding and flocking: comparison of seasonal wetland habitat use by the Brolga Grus rubicunda in south-western Victoria". Australian Field Ornithology. 22: 5–11.
  21. ↑ Davis, Danielle (2014-01-19). "Brolga". WIRES: Northern Rivers. Retrieved 2014-01-19.
  22. ↑ "Queensland flags and emblems". About Australia. Retrieved 2013-03-11.
  23. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Sundar, K.S. Gopi; Grant, John D.A.; Veltheim, Inka; Kittur, Swati; Brandis, Kate; McCarthy, Michael A.; Scambler, Elinor (2019). "Sympatric cranes in northern Australia: abundance, breeding success, habitat preference and diet". Emu. 119: 79–89. doi:10.1080/01584197.2018.1537673. S2CID   133977233.
  24. 1 2 3 Beruldsen, G (2003). Australian Birds: Their Nests and Eggs. Kenmore Hills, Queensland: self. p. 211. ISBN   978-0-646-42798-0.
  25. 1 2 Nielson, Lloyd (1963). "Unusual clutch of eggs of the Brolga". The Australian Bird Watcher. 2: 56–57.
  26. 1 2 Veltheim, Inka; Cook, Simon; Palmer, Grant; Hill, Richard; McCarthy, Michael (2019). "Breeding home range movements of pre-fledged brolga chicks, Antigone rubicunda (Gruidae) in Victoria, Australia – Implications for wind farm planning and conservation". Global Ecology and Conservation. e00703.
  27. ↑ "Department of Sustainability and Environment Threatened Species Advisory Lists" (PDF). Department of Sustainability and Environment. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-01-05. Retrieved 2013-03-10.
  28. ↑ Victorian Department of Sustainability and Environment (2007). Advisory List of Threatened Vertebrate Fauna in Victoria – 2007. East Melbourne, Victoria: Department of Sustainability and Environment. p. 15. ISBN   978-1-74208-039-0.

Cited text

Wiktionary-logo-en-v2.svg The dictionary definition of brolga at Wiktionary

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.