Hindu barbels

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Hindu barbels
Hindu barbels

Hindu barbels

Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Plover-like (Charadriiformes)
Family : Blatthühnchen (Jacanidae)
Genre : Metopidius
Type : Hindu barbels
Scientific name of the  genus
Metopidius
Wagler , 1832
Scientific name of the  species
Metopidius indicus
( Latham , 1790)
In Calcutta , West Bengal , India .

The Hindu jacana ( Metopidius indicus ) belongs to the jacana , a family of wading birds in the order of the plover-like (Charadriiformes). It is the only species of the genus Metopidius, which is monotypical with it .

Cub Calcutta, West Bengal, India.
Hindu barbels flying

features

Hindu barbels are striking and distinctive birds. They reach a body length of 28 to 31 cm, with the females being larger than the males on average. From the eyelids to the top of the neck there is a striking, wide, white stripe above the eyes . The rest of the head, the neck, the underside and the lower wings are, with the exception of the dark red under tail and the dark red-brown rear flanks, black with a strong dark green sheen. The base of the neck has a dark blue-violet shine. The mantle, shoulder feathers, wing covers and the outer flags of the umbrella feathers are shiny brownish-green, the wings and covers , the thumb wings and wings are blackish with a dull green sheen. The back, rump , upper tail-coverts and control feathers are rich red-brown and have a purple sheen.

The bill, which is quite strong for a jacana and yellow towards the tip, changes from greenish yellow to reddish at the base, in young birds it is predominantly greenish yellow. The base of the upper beak is bright red, the upper part of the forehead shield is almost round. The legs and extremely long toes are dark green. The iris is brown.

Females and males show no differences in plumage. Any white or yellow-brown coloration on the underside indicates young birds. Her back is dull greenish-brown, rump and upper tail soot-brown, the stripe above the eyes is short and does not reach behind the eyes. There are no known subspecies .

Measurements (adult birds, after Rasmussen and Anderton, 2005):

  • Length 280-310 mm
  • Wing length 150–197 mm (males 150–180 mm, females 167–197 mm)
  • Foot length 61-76 mm
  • Tail length 40-52 mm
  • Beak from tip to upper end of shield 34–46 mm

distribution

The Hindu jacana breeds in India and Southeast Asia . The distribution area extends from India (with the exception of Rajasthan ) via Myanmar to southwest China (southwest Yunnan ), includes Thailand (excluding the northeast and southwest), Cambodia , central Laos , South Vietnam , western Indonesia ( Sumatra , Java ) and the Malay Peninsula . As a rule, it is local, but can disappear seasonally.

Habitat and way of life

The habitat of the Hindu barbels are worldwide within the tropical zone, shallow waters overgrown with floating plants. In addition, they are also found on wet grassland and overgrown rice fields.

The Hindu jacana feeds on insects that are pecked by the floating vegetation or the surface of the water. His contact call, often in flight, is a short, rough grunt, his call in aggression or as an alarm a hoarse seek-seek-seek .

The males defend their territory with great energy. In an emergency they hide by submerging or seek shelter in the vegetation away from the water. The clutch in a floating nest consists of four brown eggs with black spots. In India, breeding is usually done during the summer monsoon from June to September. As with some other wading birds, for example the water treaders , the males take over the breeding business alone and sometimes carry the chicks on their backs between their wings. The females often tend to polyandry ( polyandry ).

literature

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Charles gald Sibley: Distribution and Taxonomy of Birds of the World. Yale University Press, 1991, ISBN 978-0300049695 , p. 242.

Web links

Commons : Hindu chickens ( Metopidius indicus )  - Collection of images, videos, and audio files