The Brolga (Grus rubicunda) is one of two species of true Cranes that occur in Australia. (The other species - The Sarus Crane (Grus antigone) - only occurs in parts of Northern Australia)
The Brolga is widespread in northern and eastern Australia - but like many birds that rely on wet and swampy habitats, its range and abundance has declined as development has eaten into our wetlands.
A fully grown brolga can reach a height of 0.7 to 1.4 m and has a wingspan of 1.7 to 2.4 m Adult males have an average body mass of 6.8 kg with females averaging 5.66 kg . The weight can range from 3.6 to 8.7 kg.
In other words, they are an impressively large bird.
These birds were loafing about (rather predictably) at the Werribee Sewage Works - where they are established as a breeding species. After spending some time with the most obvious bird, I noticed a second head popping up through the vegetation about 20 meters away from the first bird.
Apart from a bit of preening and general feather maintenance these birds were not very active - there were many frogs calling in the area and I suspect both birds were waiting for their next meal to hop past!
Thank you Stewart. I look forward to our get together every week. Wishing you all the best!
ReplyDeleteHari OM
ReplyDeleteYup, they are impressive! YAM xx
Happy 505th! Wow. That's a lot of feathers.
ReplyDeleteBolga is very nice! I can only see them in wildlife reserve
ReplyDeleteDon't you think it's funny they don't get similar attention to the emu, when they're quite big and interesting? I guess too like other cranes around the world.
ReplyDeleteThey certainly are massive birds. Maybe they also get lazy when their dinner is only a hop away. Congrats on the milestone. It seems like it was only yesterday when you took over the helm of WBW.
ReplyDeleteThose are quite impressive creatures!
ReplyDeleteyes I have seen both species in the tablelands and have been on a yearly count of them several years ago. Great photos Stewart. Thanks for hosting and I hope you have a great week ahead
ReplyDeleteCongratulations on 550 editiond of WBW. I can remember the first one and it really doesn't seem that long ago.
ReplyDeleteHello Stewart :=)
ReplyDeleteThe Brolga is a splendid looking bird. Thank you for sharing. Congrats on your 550 WBW post.
All the best.
That’s an impressive bird. Also, 550 WBW’s is an impressive number. Thank you for hosting.
ReplyDelete550?! WOW! That's a lot of birds! Congrats.
ReplyDeleteTo żuraw, jakiego jeszcze w życiu nie widziałam. Ma sporo wdzięku i przypomina nasze europejskie ptaki. Piękne zdjęcia, gratuluję!
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