Dominican triel
| Dominican triel | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Dominican triel ( Burhinus bistriatus ) |
||||||||||
| Systematics | ||||||||||
|
||||||||||
| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Burhinus bistriatus | ||||||||||
| ( Wagler , 1829) |
The Dominican triel ( Burhinus bistriatus ) is a species of wader from the triele family . It occurs in four subspecies in Central America, the Caribbean and South America.
features
The Dominican Triel is a medium-sized bird with long legs and a long neck. It reaches a body length of 43 to 48 cm. The top is finely dashed gray-brown. The neck and chest are lighter brown. The belly is white. On the head there is a strong white stripe over the eyes, which is bordered by a black vertical stripe. The juvenile birds are similar to the adult birds. With them, the top is a little more brown and the neck is whitish.
distribution
The nominate form Burhinus b. bistriatus occurs from southern Mexico south to northwestern Costa Rica. Burhinus b. dominicensis lives on Hispaniola. The distribution area of Burhinus b. pediacus is restricted to northern Colombia. Burhinus b. vocifer is common in Venezuela, Guyana and the far north of Brazil. The Dominican Triel was found to be a stray visitor in Trinidad, Curaçao and in the United States.
habitat
The Dominikanertriel inhabits open grasslands and bush savannahs, often in semi-arid or arid regions. The species has also been observed on farmland with dry field paths. The Dominican triel prefers flat landscapes with or without isolated trees or bushes, but always with an open character.
Way of life
The Dominican triel is a resident bird . However, isolated wanderers have already been observed in Curaçao (July 1934) and Texas (December 1961). It is not sociable, but sometimes it forms small, isolated groups. The Dominikanertriel is crepuscular and nocturnal. During the day he rests unobtrusively. The nest is a simple hollow in the ground, sometimes a hoof print is also used. The clutch consists of two brown eggs. The Dominican trap rarely flies. When in danger, he usually takes a crouching position and relies on his camouflage.
status
No data are available on the population status of the Dominican triel. BirdLife International classifies it in the “ Least Concern” category . It is fairly common to common locally in southern Mexico, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. There it is a typical bird of the west Pacific coast. It has become rare in Hispaniola, where it used to be widespread. The decrease is mainly due to excessive hunting and habitat loss. In Colombia it is relatively common on the Caribbean coast and in the east. In the west of the country it is less common and its occurrence is local. Dominican triele often fall victim to night traffic accidents. Some farmers keep semi-domesticated triels for insect control.
Fossil finds
In 1958, the paleontologists Joshua Clifton Dickinson and Walter Auffenberg found the fossil remains of a triel species, which Pierce Brodkorb described as Burhinus nanus in 1959, in the Pleistocene deposits of the Banana Hole on the Bahamas island of New Providence . When the bone material was reconsidered in 1982, the paleontologists Storrs Lovejoy Olson and William B. Hilgartner found out that it was a subspecies of the Dominican trumpet and gave the new combination Burhinus bistriatus nanus .
Individual evidence
- ^ Storrs L. Olson & William B. Hilgartner: Fossil Vertebrates from the Bahamas. In: Smithsonian Contributions to Paleobiology. No. 48, 1982.
literature
- Peter Hayman, John Marchant & Tony Prater: Shorebirds - an identification guide to the waders of the world. 2nd revised edition, A & C Black, 1991, ISBN 0713635096 .
- Josep del Hoyo et al .: Handbook of the Birds of the World (HBW). Volume 3: Hoatzin to Auks. Lynx Edicions, Barcelona 1996, p. 362.
Web links
- Burhinus bistriatus inthe IUCN 2013 Red List of Threatened Species . Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved October 16, 2013.