Brolga
They are formerly known as the native companion, is a bird in the crane family. It has also been given the name Australian crane, a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithological artist John Gould in his Birds of Australia. The brolga is a common, gregarious wetland bird species of tropical and south-eastern Australia and New Guinea. It is a tall, upright bird with a small head, long beak, slender neck and long legs. The plumage is mainly grey, with black wing tips, and it has an orange-red band of colour on its head. The brolga's courting dance is similar to that of other cranes, and is well recognized by Australians.
Adults – bare crown covered with greenish grey skin, face, cheeks and pendulous throat pouch have red skin, plumage is light bluish grey to grey, black legs; juveniles – pale grey body feathers, cinnamon-brown head, dark brown eyes.
They have a salt gland located near the eye allows the Brolga to excrete a concentrated salt solution from the saltwater they drink.
Habitat
They are widespread and often abundant in north and north-east Australia, especially north-east Queensland, and are common as far south as Victoria. They are also found in southern New Guinea and as rare vagrants in New Zealand and the northern part of Western Australia. The population in northern Australia is estimated at between 20,000-100,000 birds and in southern Australia, 1,000 birds. The numbers of individuals in New Guinea are unknown. Until 1961, Brolgas were thought to be the only species of crane in Australia, until the sarus crane was also located in Queensland. Brolga movements in Australia are poorly understood, though seasonal flocks are observed in eastern Queensland in non-breeding areas regularly, and a few coastal populations are suspected to move up to 500km(310mi) inland.
Little is known of the movements and habitats of the New Guinea populations. Further south, in Victoria and New South Wales, rainfall is spread more evenly throughout the year and the driest season lasts from December to May. At this time, southern populations congregate in inland flocking areas which include upland marshes, the edges of reservoirs and lakes, pastures and agricultural land. When rain arrives in June and July, they disperse to the coastal freshwater marshes, shallow lakes, wet meadows and other wetlands where they breed. In south-west Victoria, breeding sites during and immediately after spring are freshwater wetlands, while freshwater, brackish and saline wetland sites used for flocking during the autumn. Queensland is the state in which the greatest numbers of Brolgas are found, and sometimes flocks of over 1,000 individuals are seen here. The bird is the official bird emblem for the state and also appears on its coat of arms. Over 30% of the cranes share four additional Eucalyptus-dominated woodland regional ecosystems with sarus cranes. Brolga numbers were highest in floodplains where grassland habitats dominated, and the largest flocks were also found in grassland habitats.
Diet
Brolgas are omnivorous and forage in wetlands, saltwater marshes, and farmlands. They tear up the ground with their powerful beaks in search of bulbs and edible roots. Northern populations have a very varied diet, with minimal contribution of vegetation. They also eat the shoots and leaves of wetland and upland plants, cereal grains, seeds, insects, mollusks, crustaceans, frogsand lizards. In saltwater marshes they may drink saline water. Isotopic analyses of molted feathers in their breeding grounds along the Gulf of Carpentaria showed their diet to be diverse across multiple trophic levels, with minimal contribution of vegetation. Analyses showed strong niche separation between Brolgas and sarus cranes by diet. It is likely that their diet in dry season flocks at Atherton Highlands are very different owing to the largely agricultural landscape.
Breeding
They are monogamous, a feature of a couple is their call which the female usually initiates. The male emits one longer call for every two calls by the female. They are known for their ritual, intricate mating dances. The performance begins with picking up some grass and tossing it into the air before catching it in its bill. The bird then jumps into the air with outstretched wings, continues stretching its neck, bowing, strutting, calling and bobbing its head. Sometimes one brolga dances for its mate; often they dance in pairs; and sometimes a whole group of a dozen dance together, lining up roughly opposite each other before they start. They breed throughout Australia and New Guinea. The start of the breeding season is determined by rainfall rather than the time of year, the season is February to May after the rainy season in the monsoonal areas, and September to December in southern Australia. The nest, which is built by both sexes, is a raised mound of uprooted grass, and other plant material on a small island in shallow water, or occasionally floating. Sometimes the birds make hardly any nest, take over a disused swan nest, or simply lay on bare ground. There is a single brood produced per year. The clutch size is usually two, but occasionally one or three eggs are laid about two days apart. The dull white eggs are sparsely spotted or blotched with reddish brown, with the markings being denser at the larger end of the egg. Both sexes incubate the eggs with the female sitting on the nest at night. Hatching is not synchronised, and occurs after about 32 days of incubation. The chicks are precocial and are able to leave the nest within a day or two. Both parents feed and guard the young. The chicks fledge within four or five weeks, are fully feathered within three months and are able to fly about two weeks later. The adults continue to protect the young for up to eleven months, or for nearly two years if they do not breed again in the interim.
Population
The population of Brolgas is considered to be secure with somewhere between 20,000 to 100,000 birds in northern Australia. But in the southern population it is estimated at only 1,000 birds and they are dwindling, and the species is listed as vulnerable in NSW, South Australia and Victoria. As a whole the Brolga is listed on the IUCN red list as Least Concern and the assessment was taken on 1st October 2016, this could of changed in the last few years, but there are plans to help get there population back up.
Threats
The most significant threat to the Brolga across its range is the loss and degradation of wetlands. In northern Australia, wetlands are extensively degraded as a result of heavy livestock grazing, disruption of hydrological processes, and changes in vegetation. In the south, loss of wetlands to drainage and reclamation for agriculture is probably the main factor behind the dramatic decline in the number of Brolgas occurring there. Other threats include the subdivision and fencing of large private landholdings, predation by the introduced red fox, incidental poisoning, and collisions with power lines and wind turbines.
Conservation
Naree Station Reserve is a haven for Brolgas. A former pastoral property, it's located in the Warrego-Paroo River catchment in north-western NSW, one of the least disturbed parts of the Murray-Darling Basin. Unlike most other river systems in the Basin, there's minimal water extraction in the Warrego-Paroo system, allowing the area to flood and dry naturally. They work with universities, and experts like ornithologist (bird specialist) Professor Richard Kingsford on Naree, who has been monitoring waterbirds across inland Australia since 1986. They also protect their habitat on Ethabuka, Cravens Peak, Edgbastonand Yourka Reserves (all in Queensland), removing threats like weeds and feral pigs, which damage sensitive wetland systems. They will also remove eggs from nest so that predators dont eat them. Mark power lines so they are less likely to fly into them.