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.
识别特征
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.
分类信息
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.
- 学名
- Pedionomus torquatus
- 命名信息
- Gould, 1840
- 目
- Charadriiformes
- 科
- Pedionomidae
- 属
- Pedionomus
分布与栖息地
- 迁徙
- Resident species
保护状况
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.
- 种群趋势
- declining
照片
分布
鸟叫声
其他鸟类
Mottle-cheeked Tyrannulet
Phylloscartes ventralis
Small olive-yellow flycatcher with a long slender tail, which is often held cocked. Olive above and yellow below with a pale eyebrow, a white chin, and two pale wingbars. Found in montane forests including Araucaria forests, where it forages actively in the middle and upper layers of the forest often with mixed-species flocks. The song is short and high-pitched.
Rusty-margined Flycatcher
Myiozetetes cayanensis
One of several medium-sized, kiskadee-like flycatchers that are bright yellow below, with bold black-and-white head pattern. Rusty-margined is one of the smaller ones, with a smaller bill than Great Kiskadee. Most similar to Social and White-ringed Flycatchers; look for combination of black cheek (not gray) and especially obvious rufous in the wings. Shorter bill than White-ringed. Voice is helpful: listen for lazy-sounding, slightly burry “wheeer” call. Found in a variety of open wooded habitats such as forest edge and second growth, often around water.
Malaysian Rail-babbler
Eupetes macrocerus
Astoundingly odd ground-dwelling inhabitant of dense lowland and foothill forests; typically quite shy and reclusive, but utterly unmistakable. Warm brown with a burst of bright color on the face: black, white, yellow, orange, and rusty red. Of these, the white and black are most obvious if the bird is under heavy cover or in the shade (as it often is). Long, slender, wader-like legs, neck, and bill are unlike any other forest ground-dweller in range. Displaying birds inflate purple balloons on the neck and sing a haunting whistle that gradually rises and falls in pitch.
开始您的观鸟之旅
在户外识别鸟类，并在下一次观察时随手查阅鸟类图鉴。