Plains-wanderer
Plains-wanderer | |
---|---|
female | |
male | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | Chordata |
Class: | Aves |
Order: | Charadriiformes |
Suborder: | Thinocori
|
Family: | Pedionomidae Bonaparte , 1856
|
Genus: | Pedionomus Gould, 1840 |
Species: | P. torquatus
|
Binomial name | |
Pedionomus torquatus Gould, 1840
|
The plains-wanderer (Pedionomus torquatus) is a bird, the only representative of family Pedionomidae and genus Pedionomus. It is endemic to Australia. The majority of the remaining population is found in the Riverina region of New South Wales.
Description
The plains-wanderer is a quail-like ground bird, measuring 15–19 cm. It is such an atypical bird that it is placed in an entire family of its own, Pedionomidae. The adult male is light brown above, with fawn-white underparts with black crescents. The adult female is substantially larger than the male, and has a distinctive white-spotted black collar. They have excellent camouflage, and will first hide at any disturbance. If approached too closely, they will run rather than fly, at which they are very poor. Females lay four eggs, which the male then incubates.[2]
Taxonomy
It was formerly believed to be related to the
Status and conservation
Population decline has been caused by the conversion of native
A crucial aspect of Plains-wanderer conservation is their habitat needs. They require grasslands with both open and denser vegetation for foraging and roosting, which is essential for their survival and recovery.[9]
International
This bird is listed as
Australia
Plains-wanderers are listed as
- New South Wales: Endangered, under the Biodiversity Conservation Act 2016 (NSW) (February 2022 list)
- Queensland: Critically Endangered, under Nature Conservation (Animals) Regulation 2020 (November 2021 list)
- National Parks and Wildlife Act 1972(January 2020 list)
- Victoria: Critically Endangered, under the Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act 1988(October 2021 list)
A 2018 study ranked it sixth in a list of Australian birds most likely to go extinct.[11]
Conservation efforts
A captive population was established in late 2018 within a purpose-built facility containing 30 aviaries at
See also
References
- ^ . Retrieved 21 July 2022.
- ISBN 978-1-85391-186-6.
- JSTOR j.ctt1xp3v3r.
- PMID 15329156.
- ISSN 0908-8857.
- PMID 13678682.
- ISSN 1442-8903.
- ^ "Plains-wanderer". Important Bird Areas. BirdLife International. 2012. Retrieved 4 November 2012.
- S2CID 247098208.
- ^ "Pedionomus torquatus — Plains-wanderer". Species Profile and Threats Database. Department of Climate Change, Energy, the Environment and Water, Australian Government. Retrieved 7 July 2022.
- ^ "Dubbo Zoo welcomes two critically endangered chicks". Daily Liberal. 14 April 2020. Retrieved 17 April 2020.
Further reading
- Paton, T. A.; Baker, A. J.; Groth, J. G. & Barrowclough, G. F. (2003): "RAG-1 sequences resolve phylogenetic relationships within charadriiform birds". Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 29: 268–278. PMID 13678682(HTML abstract).
- Ahlquist, Jon Edward(1990): Phylogeny and classification of birds. New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press.
- Thomas, Gavin H.; Wills, Matthew A. & Székely, Tamás (2004): "A supertree approach to shorebird phylogeny". .
- van Tuinen, Marcel; Waterhouse, David & Dyke, Gareth J. (2004): PDF "Avian molecular systematics on the rebound: a fresh look at modern shorebird phylogenetic relationships". Journal of Avian Biology 35(3): 191–194.