Bengal Florican
Houbaropsis bengalensis
Rapidly declining dainty bustard of tall grassland. Male is black with a speckled brown back and white wings, while female is intricately patterned in buffy brown all over. Retiring and seldom seen outside of the breeding season, when the male’s extravagant leaping display flight frequently brings it above the grasses and into view.
Identification
The male Bengal florican has a black plumage from the head and neck to underparts. Its head carries a long lanky crest, and the neck has elongated display plumes. The upperside is buff with fine black vermiculations and black arrowhead markings, and there is a conspicuous large white patch from the wing coverts to the remiges. In flight, the male's wings appear entirely white except for the dark primary remiges. The feet and legs are yellow, the bill and irides are dark. The female is buff-brown similar to the males' back with a dark brown crown and narrow dark streaks down the side of the neck. Her wing coverts are lighter than the remiges and covered in fine dark barring. Immature Bengal floricans look like a female.Adult Bengal floricans range from 66–68 cm (26–27 in) in length and stand around 55 cm (22 in) tall. The female is larger than the male and weighs around 1.7–1.9 kg (3.7–4.2 lb) against a weight of 1.2–1.5 kg (2.6–3.3 lb) in males.<p>They are normally silent but, when disturbed, utter a metallic chik-chik-chik call. Displaying males croak and produce a deep humming sound.<p>The only bird even remotely similar to adult males of the Bengal florican is the lesser florican (Sypheotides indica). This is a smaller, slimmer-necked bustard overall, and its males have cheek-tufts of plumes with pennant-like tips rather than the crest, and a white band between neck and back. The females are similar, and young Bengal floricans can be easily mistaken for female lesser floricans. The latter has almost white wing coverts however, resembling the males' wing patch.
Taxonomy
Genus: Houbaropsis; Family: Otididae; Order: Otidiformes.
- Scientific name
- Houbaropsis bengalensis
- Authority
- (Müller, PLS, 1776)
- Order
- Otidiformes
- Family
- Otididae
- Genus
- Houbaropsis
Range and habitat
The Bengal florican has two disjunct populations. One occurs from Uttar Pradesh through the Terai of Nepal to Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in India, and historically to Bangladesh. The other occurs in Cambodia and perhaps adjacent southern Vietnam. It is mostly resident on its breeding grounds; around Tonlé Sap in Cambodia however, the birds use grasslands near the lake to breed, and move away from the water in the wet season when the breeding grounds are flooded. Similarly, the Terai population seems to move to warmer lowland locations in winter. Migrations are not long-distance, however, and probably are restricted to a few dozen kilometers.<p>Bengal floricans live in open tall grassland habitats with scattered bushes. The most important grass species are satintails Imperata, in particular Cogongrass I. cylindrica), sugarcane (Saccharum, in particular Kans Grass S. spontaneum), munj grass (Tripidium bengalense), as well as Desmostachya bipinnata. The birds are usually encountered in the early mornings and evenings and are most easily spotted in the breeding season from March to August, which is when most censuses of the population are conducted. Particular between March and May, when they give their stunning courtship display, males are far more conspicuous than the cryptically-coloured females, which moreover prefer high grassland rich in sugarcane.
- Migration
- Complete migrants
Behavior
Migration pattern: Complete migrants.
Conservation
Population trend: declining.
- Population trend
- declining
Photos
Distribution
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