Tsingyralle

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Tsingyralle
Systematics
Class : Birds (aves)
Order : Crane birds (Gruiformes)
Family : Sarothruridae
Genre : Mentocrex
Type : Tsingyralle
Scientific name
Mentocrex beankaensis
Goodman , Raherilalao & Block , 2011

The Tsingyralle ( Mentocrex beankaensis ) is a little researched bird of the genus Mentocrex . Both the trivial and the species name refer to the distribution area that includes the Tsingy and the Forêt de Beanka (Beanka forest) in central northwest Madagascar.

Systematics

The Tsingyralle was scientifically described as Mentocrex beankaensis in 2011 on the basis of a male caught in 2009 and a young female caught in 2001 in down plumage, which was previously mistaken for a gray-throated claw ( Mentocrex kioloides ) . Since the genus Mentocrex was synonymous with the genus Canirallus in 1998 , the International Ornithological Congress placed the Tsingyralle in the genus Canirallus in 2011 . In 2019 it was again placed in the genus Mentocrex by the IOC . The consideration of the Tsingyralle as an independent species is not entirely undisputed. Although it is recognized as an independent species by the IOC, the HBW and the Clements Checklist of Birds of the World , it is listed as a subspecies Mentocrex kioloides beankaensis in the Howard and Moore Complete Checklist of the Birds of the World .

features

Size information is only available from the holotype, a male captured in 2009. It has a size of 30 cm and a wing length of 142 mm. Forehead, neck and reins are dark smoke gray and dark gray brown. The appearance appears slightly marbled. The ear covers and the face from below the eyes are dark cinnamon brown up to the cheek area. The neck and coat are light umbra with an olive tint. The lower back, shoulders and upper wing coverts are amber in color. The rump and upper tail are more reddish brown. The wing feathers are blackish with white bands on the inner vents. The innermost arm wings and the umbrella feathers are simpler and more umber. The throat and chin are dirty white and outlined by a narrow, dark line. Neck, chest and the upper flanks are dark cinnamon reddish brown. The middle of the abdomen is dark clay with an umber or olive tint. The lower flanks and thighs are banded or spotted dark brown, umber and pale yellow-brown. The yellow-brown with cinnamon-reddish brown mixed under tail covers have dark bandages. The under wing-coverts, the axillary feathers and the wings are banded in black and white. The iris is reddish chestnut brown, the beak is light blue-gray with a light horn- or ivory-colored tip. The base of the upper bill is dark. The legs are blackish. The Tsingyralle differs from the closely related gray-throated claw in its larger size, the generally darker plumage and the less uniform color of the forehead and reins. The sexes probably look the same. The juvenile birds have not yet been described. The young female in down plumage had a dark brown iris.

Habitat and way of life

The habitat includes karst with pinnacles, a landscape known as Tsingy in Madagascar. The Tsingyralle can be found at a height of 100 to 320 m in canyons that are surrounded by exposed rocks and overgrown with dry deciduous forests. The species is generally found at lower altitudes than the gray-throated claw, which has been observed in the neighboring Sabirano region. The Tsingyralle is apparently a resident bird. No more is known about their way of life.

status

The Tsingyralle is on the IUCN's early warning list. It has a very limited range, probably covering an area of ​​only 125 × 5 km. The size of the total population is estimated to be very small. Most of the Bemaraha massif is under nature protection. Human pressure on the area is generally low as access is difficult and the soil quality is poor. However, oil exploration activities in the 1980s have facilitated access to some previously impenetrable areas. Although the Tsingy de Bemaraha Nature Reserve (at the north end of the massif) and the Tsingy de Bemaraha National Park (at the south end of the massif) are protected by law, most of the region is poorly controlled. Habitat loss is likely to occur, in particular through shifting cultivation, pasture reclamation, wood harvesting and the removal of other forest resources. Fires are started to stimulate grass growth for pasture production and to create paths. The Tsingyralle also appears to be endangered by hunting, which is likely to deteriorate frequently. In the north of the distribution area in the limestone needles, rakes and lemurs are hunted by poaching gangs for food.

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Barry Taylor, Ber Van Perlo: Rails: A Guide to the Rails, Crakes, Gallinules and Coots of the World . Pica Press, The Banks, Mountfield 1998, ISBN 1-873403-59-3 , p. 181

literature

  • Steven Michael Goodman, Marie Jeanne Raherilalao, Nicholas Lewis Block: Patterns of morphological and genetic variation in the Mentocrex kioloides complex (Aves: Gruiformes: Rallidae) from Madagascar, with the description of a new species . In: Zootaxa . tape 2776 , 2011, pp. 49–60 ( online (PDF; 370 KB) [accessed November 16, 2013]).

Web links