Stilt monarch
| Stilt monarch | ||||||||||||
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Stilt Monarch ( Grallina cyanoleuca ), male |
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| Grallina cyanoleuca | ||||||||||||
| ( Latham , 1802) |
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The stilt monarch ( Grallina cyanoleuca ), also called thrush wagtail , is a conspicuous, widespread, black and white bird of the avifauna of Australia from the monarch family , whose body size roughly corresponds to that of the European blackbird . It is the only representative of its genus in Australia, the brook monarch belonging to the same genus belongs to the avifauna of New Guinea.
The stilt monarch can be found on the entire Australian continent and has been able to expand its range since the beginning of the 20th century, as the increasing pasture and agricultural areas with the associated water holes offered it new habitat. It is only absent in Tasmania and in some deep inner desert areas in northwestern Western Australia . Occasionally he is seen as a stray visitor on the Moluccas , Timor and the Lesser Sunda Islands .
The IUCN classifies their stock situation as safe ( least concern ).
features
The stilt monarch reaches a body length between 24 and 30 centimeters, the average size is 27.5 centimeters. It is roughly the size of a blackbird .
With its black and white appearance, the stilt monarch is a familiar sight in the Australian landscape: He likes to sit on telephone lines, either individually or as a couple, or he looks for food in open areas, especially on the banks of the river or swamps. The sexes look similar from a distance, but are easy to distinguish from one another: the female has a white throat, the male a black throat and a black eye stripe. Fledglings and adolescents of both sexes have the white throat of the female and the black eye stripe of the male.
Possible confusion
The stilt monarch has a superficial resemblance to the flute bird, which is also widespread in Australia . However, this is significantly larger than the job monarch. The black and white plumage is distributed differently. The most noticeable difference in plumage is the almost completely black underside of the flute bird's body. In the case of the stilt monarch, this is predominantly white.
Distribution area
The stilt monarch is absent on the Australian continent only in the Nullarbor Plain , in the Great Victoria Desert , the Gibson Desert , in the south of the Great Sand Desert and in the northeast of Arnhem Land . It is absent from most of the islands off the coast of Australia. However, among other things, the Lord Howe Island is settled , where the local monarch was observed several times as an irregular visitor at the beginning of the 20th century and was introduced in 1924 when 10 individuals were abandoned there. Since then it has been a widespread bird there. Introductory attempts have also been made in New Zealand.
With the expansion of agricultural cultivation at the beginning of the 20th century, the stilt monarch was able to expand its range in Australia. He benefits from the deforestation of forests and the creation of water points. For this reason he was only able to colonize the northwest of South Australia and the southwest of Western Australia in the 20th century . Its population density has increased in the area around Charters Towers and in the wheat belt of West Australia. In contrast, in heavily urbanized regions such as the region around Sydney, the population figures have declined.
The individual populations show different migration behavior depending on their geographical distribution. In South Australia, the populations of adult stilt monarchs are predominantly resident birds that occupy a territory all year round. Young birds, not yet sexually mature birds, and non-breeding adults, on the other hand, form flocks that roam a larger area. In Northern Australia, stilt monarchs are migratory and migratory birds that migrate to the coastal regions during the seasons with little rainfall.
habitat
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The stilt monarch inhabits a number of very different habitats. Generally it can be found in open grasslands and sparsely populated areas with trees and bushes. HE depends on the proximity of water. The most typical habitat for him are open forest landscapes along water courses. It also occurs on agricultural land and in the sparsely populated suburbs of urban regions. On the other hand, it is absent in dense, closed forests or the Mallee , if these have no water points. Its habitat requirements are the water and clay spots that it needs to build its nests, as well as some taller trees in which it builds or rests its nests, and finally, open space in which it looks for food on the ground. Its height distribution extends up to a maximum of 1200 meters, above 1000 meters it is rarely found.
Way of life
food
The stilt monarch mainly eats invertebrates. Small insects and their larvae play a particularly important role in its diet. However, it also occasionally eats small vertebrates and grass seeds. He looks for his food mainly on the ground. It can be seen looking for food in parks and gardens in the suburbs, on pastures and in orchards. It very often looks for invertebrates on freshly mown lawns. Due to his comparatively low shyness, he occasionally shows up even though the lawn is still being mowed. It very seldom looks for food in the treetops or catches insects on the fly.
Outside of the breeding season, stilt monarchs are more likely to be seen looking for food in small groups of up to eight individuals. All year round they can occasionally be seen looking for food together with flute bird , short-tailed wheatear ( Epthianura albifrons ) and spiny ibis .
Reproduction
Bird pairs generally stay together for life (however, separations are not unknown) and defend their territory together. The nest is about 150 mm in diameter and is usually built on a horizontal branch near the water. It consists of grass and plant material, which is held together with mud and generously lined with grass, feathers and fur. The breeding season is adapted to the environmental conditions: usually from August to February in the fertile south, all year round in dry regions. Multiple broods are common when conditions allow. Both parent birds incubate the clutch from three to five eggs.
Trivia
The stilt monarch is one of the approximately 200 species of birds in the world that are known to be able to sing in a duet: each partner makes a sound per second, but is offset by half a second so that it is difficult to say whether two or only one is singing.
Systematics
As with many other birds in the Australian bird world, the English name Magpie-lark , in English "Elster-Lerche" , comes from the first European settlers who compared the stilt monarch with native birds of the northern hemisphere .
In fact, it is not closely related to either the magpie or the lark . The true relationships are not entirely clear : Traditionally, the genus Grallina formed its own family Grallinidae , which is somewhere between the families of mud-nest crows (Corcoracidae) and flute shrike (Cracticidae) - both look quite similar to the bird. Investigations on DNA hybridization in the 1980s and 1990s indicated a closer relationship with the monarchs (Monarchidae), fan tails (Rhipiduridae) and drongos (Dicruridae). As a preliminary inclusion into the corvids out belonging (Corvidae) subfamily Dicrurinae, but is not universally accepted. In 2008 the genus Grallina was incorporated into the family of monarchs.
literature
- PJ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds. Volume 7: Boatbill to Starlings. Oxford University Press, Oxford 2006, ISBN 0-19-553996-6 .
Web links
- Grallina cyanoleuca inthe IUCN Red List of Threatened Species 2016.3. Posted by: BirdLife International, 2016. Retrieved February 6, 2017.
- Videos, photos and sound recordings for Grallina cyanoleuca in the Internet Bird Collection
Individual evidence
- ↑ Handbook of the Birds of the World on the Stilt Monarch , accessed April 14, 2017.
- ↑ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds. Volume 7, p. 134.
- ↑ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds. Volume 7, p. 136.
- ↑ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds. Volume 7, p. 137.
- ↑ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds. Volume 7, p. 135.
- ↑ Higgins (Ed.): Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds. Volume 7, p. 139.
- ^ L. Christidis, WE Boles: Systematics and Taxonomy of Australian Birds. CSIRO Publishing, Canberra 2008, ISBN 978-0-643-06511-6 , p. 174.