Plains-wanderer
Pedionomus torquatus
Unique terrestrial bird, endemic to Australia, where found in sparse native grasslands in parts of central and southern Australia. Extremely secretive and elusive, this species is unlikely to be observed without deliberate search and professional help. Resembles a buttonquail but has a more upright posture and a hind-toe. Upperparts reddish-brown with fine black streaking, underparts white with black spots. Adult female has bright red patch on the neck, with a black-and-white collar above it.
Identification
The plains-wanderer is a quail-like ground bird, measuring 15–19 cm. It is such an atypical bird that it is placed in an entire family of its own, Pedionomidae. The adult male is light brown above, with fawn-white underparts with black crescents. The adult female is substantially larger than the male, and has a distinctive, white-spotted black collar. They have excellent camouflage and will first hide at any disturbance. If approached too closely, they will run rather than fly, at which they are very poor. Females lay four eggs, which the male then incubates.
Taxonomy
It was formerly believed to be related to the buttonquails and thus placed in the gamebird order Galliformes or with the cranes and rails in Gruiformes. DNA–DNA hybridization and RAG-1 sequence data places it as a wader related to the jacanas. It thus represents a remarkable case of morphological convergence, or perhaps it is simply extremely plesiomorphic in morphology (the buttonquails, meanwhile, having turned out to be a very basal offshoot of the wader radiation). In the latter case, this would mean that the jacanas, painted snipe and seedsnipes—all ecologically very different birds—all evolved from birds very similar to the living plains-wanderer.
- Scientific name
- Pedionomus torquatus
- Authority
- Gould, 1840
- Order
- Charadriiformes
- Family
- Pedionomidae
- Genus
- Pedionomus
Range and habitat
- Migration
- Resident species
Conservation
Population decline has been caused by the conversion of native grasslands to cultivation and intensive predation by the introduced fox—the species' ground-nesting habits, poor flying ability, and tendency to run rather than fly from predators make it easy prey for the fox. Sites identified by BirdLife International as being important for plains-wanderer conservation are Boolcoomatta, Bindarrah and Kalkaroo Stations in north-eastern South Australia, Diamantina and Astrebla Grasslands in western Queensland, Patho Plains in northern Victoria and the Riverina Plains in New South Wales. <p>A crucial aspect of Plains-wanderer conservation is their habitat needs. They require grasslands with both open and denser vegetation for foraging and roosting, which is essential for their survival and recovery.<p>This bird is listed as Endangered on the 2022 IUCN Red List.<p>Plains-wanderers are listed as critically endangered under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). Their conservation status varies from state to state within Australia: <p>A 2018 study ranked it sixth in a list of Australian birds most likely to go extinct.<p>A captive population was established in late 2018 within a purpose-built facility containing 30 aviaries at Taronga Western Plains Zoo in Dubbo. These captive individuals will form an insurance population as part of a breed-and-release program to support the wild population, as part of the national conservation plan for the species.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
Bird Calls
Other Birds
Chestnut-rumped Thornbill
Acanthiza uropygialis
Small bird with thin pointed bill, found in woodland and shrubland across much of arid inland temperate Australia. Brownish gray above, cream-colored below, with white eye, pale speckling on forecrown, pale-tipped dark tail, and vivid chestnut rump, often visible in flight. Forages in small flocks in understory bushes and also on the ground. Young bird has dark eye and can be confused with Slaty-backed Thornbill. Compare Inland Thornbill, which has a heavily streaked chest. Typical calls are very thin rapid chatter interspersed with slower, high- pitched "seeeep seeeep."
Pechora Pipit
Anthus gustavi
Small, graceful ground-dwelling songbird of open areas with patches of low shrubby cover. Strongly streaked overall with a warm brown back and creamy underparts. Noticeably smaller than Richard's and Paddyfield Pipits, slenderer in appearance than American and Red-throated. Bold black-and-white streaks on back distinguish Pechora from other species. Song is an almost insect-like hard buzzing trill with harsher nasal elements. Call is a hard “tsik.”
Northern Rosella
Platycercus venustus
Pale yellow rosella with black crown contrasting with white cheeks. The only rosella found in Northern Territory and northwestern Western Australia, where it inhabits open forests and woodlands, often near creeks and streams. Primarily pale yellow and black above, with blue wings and tail and red under the tail. Usually observed in pairs or small groups, generally difficult to find. Call is a clear double note (often repeated); also gives chattering, rattling calls.
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