Plains-wanderer

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Plains-wanderer
female
male
Scientific classification Edit this 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

painted snipe and seedsnipes
—all ecologically very different birds—all evolved from birds very similar to the living plains-wanderer.

Status and conservation

Population decline has been caused by the conversion of native

Victoria and the Riverina Plains in New South Wales.[8]

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

Endangered on the 2022 IUCN Red List.[1]

Australia

Plains-wanderers are listed as

critically endangered under the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act). Their conservation status varies from state to state within Australia:[10]

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

insurance population as part of a breed-and-release program to support the wild population, as part of the national conservation plan for the species.[12]

See also

References

Further reading

External links