Mask rush claw
| Mask rush claw | ||||||||||
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Mask rush claw |
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| Systematics | ||||||||||
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| Scientific name | ||||||||||
| Heliopais personata | ||||||||||
| ( Gray , 1849) |
The masked rush claw ( Heliopais personata , syn .: Heliopais personatus ), also called Indian rush chicken or masked rush chicken , is a very large member of the rush rattle family with a body length of 55 centimeters .
Appearance
These animals have brownish dorsal plumage. The belly is white and the throat is black. The back of the head and legs are gray. The beak is yellowish. The black area around the eyes and the white colored throat of the birds are very noticeable. The female is colored on the throat and the front part of the neck, not like the male, black, but white.
distribution and habitat
The masked rush grouse is found in India , Southeast Asia and on the island of Sumatra . There these animals inhabit ponds overgrown with plants, smaller ponds, streams on the coast and in the hinterland as well as mangrove thickets .
Way of life
It feeds on smaller invertebrates, green parts of plants and also on seeds. When swimming, the head jerks rhythmically with it. In case of danger they almost completely submerge so that only the head and neck protrude from the water. On land they run around with their heads held high to keep an eye out for dangers and then quickly disappear into the next thicket. When they want to rest, they settle in pairs or in smaller groups on overhanging branches by water. If you want to take off from the surface of the water or on land you need a very long approach. Her high-pitched voice is reminiscent of blowing air into the water with the help of a straw and is used to defend her territory against other conspecifics or as a courtship song. Their food, which they mostly look for in the water, consists of mussels, crustaceans, aquatic insects, frogs, smaller fish and plants. Life expectancy is around 10 years.
Reproduction
The couple builds a shallow swimming nest from aquatic plants and reeds , mostly under fallen trees. The clutch comprises 4–7 spotted eggs. This is incubated by both parents for a total of 22 days. The offspring are cared for together. Whether the males also transport their young in folds of skin like the other species of their genus has not yet been observed.
Danger
The IUCN classifies this species as Endangered (critically endangered). The reasons for this are the destruction of their habitat due to the expansion of human settlements, agricultural areas, logging as well as the hunting and collection of eggs. In addition, cyclones often destroy large parts of their living space. To protect the species, protected areas have been designated in the Sundarbans .
literature
- Wildlife of Asia in color. Karl Müller Verlag, Erlangen 1989, p. 209.
- Bird life atlas. Unipart Verlag GmbH, Remseck near Stuttgart 1994, ISBN 3-8122-3399-1 , p. 174.
- THE BLV encyclopedia birds of the world. BLV Buchverlag GmbH & Co. KG, Munich 2004, ISBN 3-405-16682-9 , p. 223.
Web links
- Heliopais personata inthe IUCN Red List of Endangered Species 2019.1. Listed by: BirdLife International, 2012. Retrieved April 22, 2019.