Brolga, Native companion
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.
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 of colour on its head. The brolga's courting dance is similar to that of other cranes and is well recognized by Australians. 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.
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. It has featured on the Queensland coat of arms since 1977 and was formally declared as the bird emblem of the state in 1986.
The Brolga is an Australian bird of the crane family and one of the countrys largest flying birds. It has long legs and a silvery-gray body, and the undersides of its wingtips are dark brown or black, and part of its head and neck are a scarlet color. Males are slightly bigger than females.
The Brolga is common in the north and north-east parts of Australia, from Victoria to north-east Queensland. It also inhabits southern New Guinea, parts of northern Western Australia and New Zealand. It lives in wetlands, shallow open marshes, wet meadows, coastal mudflats and sometimes estuaries. It avoids areas that are arid and semi-arid, but it may live near water in such habitats.
Brolgas are gregarious birds, often seen in pairs and in family groups numbering 3 to 4 individuals. After breeding season, the birds gather in large flocks where families stay separated. Such groups may be partly nomadic or may remain in the same area. Brolgas are active during the day and rest at night. Some birds of this species also migrate to the north. Brolgas perform elaborate displays such as their mating dances, either in the breeding season or any time of the year. They are aggressive and will fight, leaping into the air to rake an intruder with their claws, or to stab at the opponent with their bill. If threatened at their nest with chicks present, parents perform a broken-wing display while their chicks hide. They make a far-carrying trumpeting garooo sound or a longer kaweee-kreee-kurr-kurr-kurr-kurr when flying, resting or during courtship displays.
The Brolga is omnivorous and mainly eats sedge tubers and crops, though it will also eat invertebrates such as insects, crustaceans, and mollusks, small vertebrates like frogs, and occasionally mice.
The Brolga is a monogamous species and mates for life. They engage in dramatic displays that involves leaps, head shaking and trumpeting loudly. These dances may serve to strengthen bonds between mates outside the mating season, which occurs mainly from September until December in the south, while in the north it is between February and May. Nests are located in a marsh or on small islands in shallow water. Both adults strongly defend their territory and their nest site. Females lay two eggs and incubation is shared by both parents, lasting about 28-30 days. The young are fed and looked after by both parents. The chicks can leave their nest very soon, between a few hours and two days old. The chicks fledge within a four to five-week period, and within three months they are fully feathered, and able to fly around two weeks after that. The adults protect their young for as long as 11 months or sometimes for nearly 2 years, depending on whether or not they have bred again in the interim.
The biggest threat to Brolgas is degradation and loss of their wetland habitats due to drainage of wetlands, excessive grazing and fencing. Further threats are collision with powerlines, and predation by the introduced red fox.
According to Wikipedia, the population in northern Australia is estimated at between 20,000 and 100,000 birds and in southern Australia, 1,000 birds. Brolgas are classified as least concern (LC) on the list of threatened species with stable population trend.
