Red-footed grouse
| Red-footed grouse | ||||||||||
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Red-footed grouse |
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| Tribonyx ventralis | ||||||||||
| ( Gould , 1837) |
The red-footed grouse ( Tribonyx ventralis ) is a type of railing that belongs exclusively to the avifauna of Australia .
The stock situation of the red-footed grouse is given as harmless ( least concern ). No subspecies are distinguished.
Appearance
anatomy
The red-footed grouse reaches a body length of 30 to 38 centimeters and a wing span between 55 and 66 centimeters. The tail plumage accounts for around 8.2 centimeters of the body length. The weight of the males is between 250 and 520 grams, females weigh between 322 and 405 grams. There is little gender dimorphism.
male
The sides of the head and throat are slate gray with a diffuse black band around the base of the beak. The top of the body is olive brown with a black tail. The wings and the tail plumage are slightly darker than the rest of the top of the body.
The front neck and chest are blue-gray, the sides of the chest are a little more brownish. The flanks, the belly, the thighs, the rump and the under tail-coverts are blackish. The elongated feathers on the front flanks have large white spots at their ends that contrast conspicuously with the otherwise dark underside of the body.
The beak and the front plate are greenish, the tip of the beak is slightly lightened. The base of the lower mandible is orange-red. The iris is bright yellow. The legs and feet are coral red.
female
Females are slightly more dull in color, have smaller spots on the sides of the body and no black or only a narrow ring at the base of the beak.
Fledglings
Reins, chin, face and throat are whitish, the rump is a little lighter and contrasts with the blackish under-tail-covers and the rest of the underside of the body. The chest and belly are slightly lighter than those of the adult birds. The beak is yellowish with a gray tip. The iris is black, the legs are more brownish.
Possible confusion
The red-footed moorhen can be confused with the Papuan moorhen . This is more slender, has a finer beak, a tapered tail and shows a more water-related way of life.
Distribution area and habitat
The red-footed grouse is widespread on mainland Australia. In Tasmania and New Zealand it is a stray visitor . It is missing in the far north.
It is a habitat opportunist that populates permanent wetlands as well as short-term wetlands after rainfall. Even if it predominantly inhabits freshwater and brackish water habitats, it can also be found in salt water. Settled wetlands include shallow lakes, swamps, ponds, and flooded plains. Especially outside the breeding season, it also occurs on dams, sewage treatment plants, on pasture land and in green areas and on golf courses. Occasionally it can even be found on poultry farms.
Way of life
The red-footed hen is diurnal and searches for food both in the water and in more extensive bank areas. It eats seeds, plant matter and insects. It lives in pairs or in larger groups. While foraging in the water, the head and shoulders are often below the surface of the water.
The reproductive biology of this type of railing has so far been little studied. The breeding season usually falls between August and December. However, they brood after long periods of drought when sufficient rain has fallen. The nest is built in the bank vegetation and is a bowl nest made of reeds, leaves, sugar cane, grass and strips of bark. The individual nests are often only seven to ten meters apart. The clutch comprises between five and seven eggs. The brood begins before the clutch is complete. However, the chicks all hatch within a maximum of 48 hours. The breeding season is 19 to 20 days. It is not yet known how long the chicks remain in the nest. They are fed by one of the two parent birds.
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 c black-tailed-native-hen-tribonyx-ventralis Handbook of the Birds of the World zum Rotfuß-Pfuhlhuhn accessed on June 5, 2017.
- ↑ a b c Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds . Volume 2, p. 609.
- ↑ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds . Volume 2, p. 614.
- ↑ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds . Volume 2, p. 611.
- ↑ a b Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds . Volume 2, p. 612.
- ↑ a b Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds . Volume 2, p. 613.