Claw claw
| Claw claw | ||||||||||||
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Claw claw |
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| Lewinia pectoralis | ||||||||||||
| ( Temminck , 1831) |
The Krickrale ( Lewinia pectoralis ) is a type of railing that belongs to the species of the genus Lewinia . It is a medium-sized, short-tailed rallen species that occurs from Flores to Tasmania.
The stock situation of the Krickrale is given as harmless ( least concern ). There are seven recent subspecies that are common in New Guinea, Eastern Australia, Southeast Australia, and Tasmania. The subspecies Lewinia pectoralis clelandi from Southwest Australia has not been detected since 1931 and is considered to be probably extinct.
Appearance
The claw reaches a body length of 20 to 27 centimeters, of which 3.9 to 5.2 centimeters are on the tail. The wing measures 9.6 to 11 centimeters. The beak length is 2.9 to 3.9 centimeters. They weigh between 63 and 112 grams. There is no noticeable gender dimorphism . The plumage of the females is only a little more brown.
Adult birds
The vertex and nape of the head are red-brown with noticeable blackish longitudinal stripes. The forehead, the wide stripe above the eyes, the back neck and the sides of the neck are red-brown with a fine blackish dash. The sides of the head, the front neck and the throat are gray and merge into a light gray or white on the chin. The rest of the top of the body is olive brown with black vertical stripes.
The chest is gray, the flanks, the belly, the rump and the under tail-covers are cross-banded white to reddish brown. The feathers of the flanks often cover part of the wings, so that the proportion of the transverse ligament appears larger. The beak is pink to pink-brown, the tip of the beak and the ridge of the beak are gray. The iris is brown, maroon or red. The legs and feet are light to dark gray with a slight shade of pink.
Fledglings
Young birds are more dull and darker in color than the adult birds. The black and white transverse banding is not so pronounced in them and the red-brown plumage on the head or neck is missing.
Possible confusion
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It can be confused with the bandage rail , which belongs to the genus Gallirallus . This is a little bigger and more compact. The tail is longer, the beak shorter and stronger. It differs from the Krickrale above all in the striking white stripe above the eyes. The river moorhen is slightly smaller, more compact, and has a shorter neck, longer tail, short, strong green bill, and greenish legs and feet. It differs from the Krickrale mainly in the white spots and white dots on the top of the body. The darker young birds of the Krickrale can also be confused with the South Sea moorhen , which however has a longer tail and whose lower body is a solid dark gray. The white transverse banding is limited to the rump and the under tail-coverts.
Distribution area and habitat
The distribution area of the Krickrale extends from the island of Flores , which belongs to the Lesser Sunda Islands, through New Guinea to Australia and Tasmania. In Australia, the Krickrale occurs disjointly along the east coast and in the southeast.
The habitat of the Krickrale are densely overgrown wetlands. It occurs accordingly in swamps, marshes, lakes, salt marshes, coastal lagoons and estuaries. These habitats must have a dense population of tall grass, sedges or reeds. It also colonizes wetlands in various forest types, including rainforests.
Little research has been done to date on the migratory behavior of the crawfish. According to the current state of knowledge, most populations are resident birds , but there are also populations that are part migrants.
Way of life
The Krickrale lives solitary, in pairs or in small family groups in dense bank vegetation along fresh and brackish waters or - in drier habitats - between ferns and grasses. It is basically a secret species that only leaves the protective vegetation to look for food along the riparian zones. Food is pecked from the surface of the mud or soil, and occasionally it digs for prey with its comparatively long beak. While searching for food it moves slowly and deliberately, the neck is then stretched, the tail plumage points upwards. She is also able to dive and swim. On the other hand, it rarely flies up and prefers to retreat into the dense vegetation on the banks when it is disturbed.
It is predominantly crepuscular, but occasionally looks for food during the day. The diet consists of mollusks, earthworms, insects, crustaceans and occasionally frogs and the eggs of other bird species. While foraging for food, it also stands more often in shallow water.
Reproduction
The reproductive biology of the crawfish has so far been little studied. It usually breeds in Australia from August to January and occasionally raises two broods in one breeding season. The nest is built in the bank vegetation on slightly raised terrain. In drier habitats, it is found near watering holes. The nest is a flat bowl made of dead grass and reeds, which is laid out with finer blades of grass. The nest is usually 18 centimeters in diameter and 8 centimeters deep. The inside of the nest has a diameter of 12 to 13 centimeters. Building the nest takes four to five days to a week at most. During the incubation of the eggs, the female occasionally pulls vegetation over her so that the nest is vaulted.
The clutch comprises three to five eggs. According to the current state of knowledge, it only breeds the female, which begins the breeding business as soon as the clutch is complete. The breeding season lasts 19 to 21 days. The nestlings hatch largely synchronously and stay in the nest for 24 hours. The last brood in a breeding season stays near the parent birds for a long time.
literature
- Bruce M. Beehler, Thane K. Pratt: Birds of New Guinea; Distribution, Taxonomy, and Systematics . Princeton University Press, Princeton 2016, ISBN 978-0-691-16424-3 .
- PJ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds , Volume 2, Raptors to Lapwings, Oxford University Press, Oxford 1993, ISBN 0-19-553069-1 .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b Handbook of the Birds of the World zur Krickralle accessed on May 28, 2017.
- ↑ a b c Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds . Volume 2, p. 529.
- ↑ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds . Volume 2, p. 535.
- ↑ a b Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds . Volume 2, p. 530.
- ↑ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds . Volume 2, p. 531.
- ↑ a b Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds . Volume 2, p. 533.