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93-411: The brolga ( Antigone rubicunda ), 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 ornithologist 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

186-444: A clutch of two eggs at a time. Both parents help to rear the young, which remain with them until the next breeding season. Most species of cranes have been affected by human activities and are at the least classified as threatened, if not critically endangered. The plight of the whooping cranes of North America inspired some of the first US legislation to protect endangered species . Cranes are very large birds, often considered

279-725: A molecular phylogenetic study by Carey Krajewski and collaborators that was published in 2010. Grey crowned crane ( Balearica regorum ) Black crowned crane ( Balearica pavonina ) Siberian crane ( Leucogeranus leucogeranus ) Sandhill crane ( Antigone canadensis ) White-naped crane ( Antigone vipio ) Brolga ( Antigone rubicunda ) Sarus crane ( Antigone antigone ) Wattled crane ( Grus carunculata ) Blue crane ( Grus paradisea ) Demoiselle crane ( Grus virgo ) Red-crowned crane ( Grus japonensis ) Whooping crane ( Grus americana ) Common crane ( Grus grus ) Hooded crane ( Grus monacha ) Black-necked crane ( Grus nigricollis ) The fossil record of cranes

372-637: A crane digging for them remains in place for some time digging and then expanding a hole to prise them out of the soil. In contrast both to this and the stationary wait and watch hunting methods employed by many herons, they forage for insects and animal prey by slowly moving forwards with their heads lowered and probing with their bills. Where more than one species of cranes exists in a locality, each species adopts separate niches to minimise competition. At one important lake in Jiangxi Province in China,

465-446: A dark ring encircling the iris on some individuals, but is a result of the optical properties of the region between the cornea and sclera , not of pigments in the iris. Iris color is a highly complex phenomenon consisting of the combined effects of texture, pigmentation, fibrous tissue, and blood vessels within the iris stroma , which together make up an individual's epigenetic constitution in this context. An organism's "eye color"

558-532: A few coastal populations are suspected to move up to 500 km (310 mi) 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,

651-413: A large beak, a long and slender neck, and stilt-like legs. The sexes are indistinguishable in appearance, though females are usually a little smaller. The adult has a grey-green, skin-covered crown, and the face, cheeks, and throat pouch are also featherless and are coral red. Other parts of the head are olive green and clothed in dark bristles. The gular pouch, which is particularly pendulous in adult males,

744-455: A large proportion of cranes that are not territorial, breeding pairs. The cranes are diurnal birds that vary in their sociality by season and location. During the breeding season , they are territorial and usually remain on their territory all the time. In contrast in the non-breeding season, they tend to be gregarious, forming large flocks to roost, socialize, and in some species feed. Sarus Crane breeding pairs maintain territories throughout

837-517: A lower pitch. Additionally, in Australia, sarus crane distribution is limited to north-eastern areas, compared to the more widespread distribution of the brolga. Brolgas 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

930-561: A much wider range of trophic levels. Some crane species such as the Common/ Eurasian crane use a kleptoparasitic strategy to recover from temporary reductions in feeding rate, particularly when the rate is below the threshold of intake necessary for survival. Accumulated intake of during daytime shows a typical anti-sigmoid shape, with greatest increases of intake after dawn and before dusk. Cranes are perennially monogamous breeders, establishing long-term pair bonds that may last

1023-611: A sixth. Australia, Europe, and North America have two regularly occurring species each. Of the four crane genera, Balearica (two species) is restricted to Africa, and Leucogeranus (one species) is restricted to Asia; the other two genera, Grus (including Anthropoides and Bugeranus ) and Antigone , are both widespread. Many species of cranes are dependent on wetlands and grasslands, and most species nest in shallow wetlands. Some species nest in wetlands, but move their chicks up onto grasslands or uplands to feed (while returning to wetlands at night), whereas others remain in wetlands for

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1116-447: A small head, long beak, slender neck, and long legs. Its plumage is mainly grey, with black wing tips, and it has an orange-red band on its head. The brolga's courting dance is similar to that of other cranes. The nest is built of wetland vegetation, either on an elevated piece of land or floating on shallow water in marshland, and usually two eggs are laid. Incubation takes 32 days, and the newly hatched young are precocial . The adult diet

1209-578: 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. Nests were initiated between November and February in the Gilbert and Flinders River basins, and tracked rainfall episodes in each river basin. A single brood is 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

1302-458: A type of large bird with long legs and necks in the biological family Gruidae of the order Gruiformes . The family has 15 species placed in four genera which are Antigone , Balearica , Leucogeranus , and Grus . They are large birds with long necks and legs, a tapering form, and long secondary feathers on the wing that project over the tail. Most species have muted gray or white plumages, marked with black, and red bare patches on

1395-405: A whole group of about a dozen dance together, lining up roughly opposite each other before they start. The brolga breeds throughout its range in Australia and New Guinea. The start of the breeding season is largely determined by rainfall rather than the time of year; thus, the season is February to May after the rainy season in the monsoonal areas, and September to December in southern Australia. It

1488-403: Is Γερανος ( geranos ), which gives us the cranesbill , or hardy geranium. The crane was a bird of omen. In the tale of Ibycus and the cranes, a thief attacked Ibycus (a poet of the sixth century BCE) and left him for dead. Ibycus called to a flock of passing cranes, which followed the attacker to a theater and hovered over him until, stricken with guilt, he confessed to the crime. Pliny

1581-470: Is actually the color of one's iris, the cornea being transparent and the white sclera entirely outside the area of interest. Melanin is yellowish to dark hazel in the stromal pigment cells, and black in the iris pigment epithelium , which lies in a thin but very opaque layer across the back of the iris. Most human irises also show a condensation of the brownish stromal melanin in the thin anterior border layer, which by its position has an overt influence on

1674-467: Is covered with such dense bristles as to make it appear black. The beak is greyish-green in adult birds, long and slender, and the irises are yellowish-orange. The ear coverts appear as a grey patch of small feathers surrounded by red naked skin and the body plumage is silvery-grey. The feathers on the back and the wing coverts have pale margins. The primary wing feathers are black and the secondaries grey. The legs and feet are greyish-black. Juveniles lack

1767-405: Is either acoustic with both birds performing the unison call, or more rarely, physical with attacks usually by the male. Because of this, females are much less likely to retain the territory than males in the event of the death of a partner. Rarely, breeding territorial crane pairs allow a third crane into the territory to form polygynous or polyandrous trios that improves the chances of survival of

1860-468: Is incomplete. Apparently, the subfamilies were well distinct by the Late Eocene (around 35 mya ). The present genera are apparently some 20 mya old. Biogeography of known fossil and the living taxa of cranes suggests that the group is probably of ( Laurasian ?) Old World origin. The extant diversity at the genus level is centered on (eastern) Africa , although no fossil record exists from there. On

1953-594: Is not at a rate that would warrant the brolga being included in a more vulnerable category. Brolgas are not listed as threatened on the Australian Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 . However, their conservation status varies from state to state within Australia. For example, the brolga is listed as threatened under the Victorian Flora and Fauna Guarantee Act (1988) . Under this Act, an Action Statement for

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2046-501: Is omnivorous and includes plant matter, invertebrates, and small vertebrates. Although the bird is not considered endangered over the majority of its range, populations are showing some decline, especially in southern Australia, and local action plans are being undertaken in some areas. It has featured on the Queensland coat of arms since 1977 and was formally declared as the bird emblem of the state in 1986. When first described by

2139-415: Is seen; if not, they will remain blue or gray. All the contributing factors towards eye color and its variation are not fully understood. Autosomal recessive/dominant traits in iris color are inherent in other species, but coloration can follow a different pattern. Heterochromia (also known as a heterochromia iridis or heterochromia iridum) is an ocular condition in which one iris is a different color from

2232-595: Is the heaviest flying bird regularly found in mainland Australia, averaging slightly higher in body mass than other large resident species such as black swan , Australian pelican and the Australian race of sarus crane (Asian sarus cranes are heavier and significantly taller). Brolgas are as well as much heavier on average than the biggest flying land birds such as the very sexually-dimorphic Australian bustard and wedge-tailed eagle ), although heavier birds such as wandering albatross may be seen as marine vagrants off

2325-443: Is the position and length of the trachea . In the two crowned cranes, the trachea is shorter and only slightly impressed upon the bone of the sternum , whereas the trachea of the other species are longer and penetrate the sternum. In some species, the entire sternum is fused to the bony plates of the trachea, and this helps amplify the crane's calls , allowing them to carry for several kilometres. The family name Gruidae comes from

2418-414: Is two cells thick (the iris pigment epithelium), but the front surface has no epithelium. This anterior surface projects as the dilator muscles. The high pigment content blocks light from passing through the iris to the retina, restricting it to the pupil. The outer edge of the iris, known as the root, is attached to the sclera and the anterior ciliary body . The iris and ciliary body together are known as

2511-490: Is unclear whether all breeding pairs leave breeding territories to join flocks during the dry season or return the subsequent breeding season, and this behavior may vary with location. In food-rich habitats , nests can be quite close together, and in Queensland, are found in the same area as those of the sarus crane. The nest, which is built by both sexes, is a raised mound of uprooted grass, and other plant material sited on

2604-574: Is usually timed to coincide with the wet or monsoon seasons. Artificial sources of water such as irrigation canals and irregular rainfall can sometimes provide adequate moisture to maintain wetland habitat outside the normal wet season, and allows for occasional aseasonal nesting throughout the year in few tropical species. Territory sizes also vary depending on location. Tropical species can maintain very small territories, for example sarus cranes in India can breed on territories as small as one hectare where

2697-449: The Iliad , because of the many colours of this eye part. The iris consists of two layers: the front pigmented fibrovascular layer known as a stroma and, behind the stroma, pigmented epithelial cells. The stroma is connected to a sphincter muscle ( sphincter pupillae ), which contracts the pupil in a circular motion, and a set of dilator muscles ( dilator pupillae ), which pull

2790-528: The Northern Territory and western Queensland and A. r. rubicunda , occurring in New Guinea , Queensland , New South Wales , Victoria , and South Australia . However, mitochondrial analyses have shown both populations sharing haplotypes indicating that they are a single taxon, though microsatellite markers show limited gene flow between the two populations. The brolga is a tall bird with

2883-464: The Siberian crane was moved to the resurrected monotypic genus Leucogeranus , while the sandhill crane, the white-naped crane, the sarus crane, and the brolga were moved to the resurrected genus Antigone . Some authorities recognize the additional genera Anthropoides (for the demoiselle crane and blue crane ) and Bugeranus (for the wattled crane ). The following cladogram is based on

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2976-406: The Siberian cranes feed on the mudflats and in shallow water, the white-naped cranes on the wetland borders, the hooded cranes on sedge meadows, and the last two species also feed on the agricultural fields along with the common cranes. In Australia, where Sarus Cranes live alongside Brolgas, they have different diets: Sarus Cranes' diet consisted of diverse vegetation, while Brolga diet spanned

3069-406: The depth of field . Very few humans possess the ability to exert direct voluntary control over their iris muscles, which grants them the ability to dilate and constrict their pupils on command. However, there is no clear purpose or advantage to this. The iris is usually strongly pigmented , with the color typically ranging between brown, hazel, green, gray, and blue. Occasionally, the color of

3162-718: The 22 pairs studied remained together for an 11-year period. Of the pairs that separated, 53% was due to the death of one of the pair, 18% was due to divorce, and the fate of 29% of pairs was unknown. Similar results had been found by acoustic monitoring (sonography/frequency analysis of duet and guard calls) in three breeding areas of common cranes in Germany over 10 years. Cranes are territorial and generally seasonal breeders. Seasonality varies both between and within species, depending on local conditions. Migratory species begin breeding upon reaching their summer breeding grounds, between April and June. The breeding season of tropical species

3255-474: The Elder wrote that cranes would appoint one of their number to stand guard while they slept. The sentry would hold a stone in its claw, so that if it fell asleep, it would drop the stone and waken. A crane holding a stone in its claw is a well-known symbol in heraldry , and is known as a crane in its vigilance. Notably, however, the crest of Clan Cranstoun depicts a sleeping crane still in vigilance and holding

3348-533: The First was dubbed dikoros (having two irises) for his patent heterochromia since his right iris had a darker color than the left one. In contrast, heterochromia and variegated iris patterns are common in veterinary practice. Siberian Husky dogs show heterochromia, possibly analogous to the genetically determined Waardenburg syndrome of humans. Some white cat fancies (e.g., white Turkish Angora or white Turkish Van cats) may show striking heterochromia, with

3441-668: The Flinders river floodplain constituted 80% of all brolgas counted. In south-west Victoria, distinct breeding (spring) and flocking (autumn) seasons are noted. When taking off from the ground, their flight is ungainly, with much flapping of wings. The bird's black wingtips are visible while it is in the air, and once it gathers speed, its flight is much more graceful and it often ascends to great heights. Here, it may be barely discernible as it wheels in great circles, sometimes emitting its hoarse cry. Brolgas are omnivorous and forage in wetlands, saltwater marshes, and farmlands. They tear up

3534-471: 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. Their diet in dry season flocks at Atherton Highlands likely are very different owing to the largely agricultural landscape. Brolgas are monogamous and usually bond for life, though new pairings may follow

3627-413: The anterior uvea . Just in front of the root of the iris is the region referred to as the trabecular meshwork , through which the aqueous humour constantly drains out of the eye, with the result that diseases of the iris often have important effects on intraocular pressure and indirectly on vision. The iris along with the anterior ciliary body provide a secondary pathway for aqueous humour to drain from

3720-461: The area is of sufficient quality and disturbance by humans is minimal. Even in areas with a high density of humans, in the absence of directed persecution, species like Sarus Crane maintain territories as small as 5 ha when agricultural crops and landscape conditions are suitable. In contrast, red-crowned crane territories may require 500 hectares, and pairs may defend even larger territories than that, up to several thousand hectares. Territory defence

3813-421: The autumn. Queensland has the greatest numbers of brolgas, and sometimes flocks of over 1,000 individuals are seen. The bird is the official bird emblem for the state and also appears on its coat of arms. Breeding pairs and flocks are distributed across several floodplains along the Gulf of Carpentaria. Brolgas here preferentially use two grassland-dominated regional ecosystems (2.3.1 and 2.3.4), though over 30% of

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3906-619: The blood vessels, collagen in the vessel and stroma) is the most important element. Rayleigh scattering and Tyndall scattering , (which also happen in the sky) and diffraction also occur. Raman scattering , and constructive interference , as in the feathers of birds, do not contribute to the color of the eye, but interference phenomena are important in the brilliantly colored iris pigment cells ( iridophores ) in many animals. Interference effects can occur at both molecular and light-microscopic scales, and are often associated (in melanin-bearing cells) with quasicrystalline formations, which enhance

3999-474: The breeding season, occurring in pairs, but during the non-breeding season, most species are gregarious, forming large flocks where their numbers are sufficient. They are opportunistic feeders that change their diets according to the season and their own nutrient requirements. They eat a range of items from small rodents , eggs of birds, fish , amphibians , and insects to grain and berries . Cranes construct platform nests in shallow water, and typically lay

4092-462: The crane carries a touchstone inside it that can be used to test for gold when vomited up. Greek and Roman myths often portrayed the dance of cranes as a love of joy and a celebration of life, and the crane was often associated with both Apollo and Hephaestus . Iris (anatomy) The word "iris" is derived from the Greek word for " rainbow ", also its goddess plus messenger of the gods in

4185-656: 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. The social unit of brolgas is very similar to that observed in sarus cranes. In breeding areas, breeding pairs defend territories against other brolgas, and when breeding efforts are successful, they remain in territories with one or two chicks. Nonbreeding birds, being young birds of past years as well as adults that do not yet have breeding territories, are also found in breeding areas, likely throughout

4278-440: The death of one individual. A feature of a bonded couple is the synchronous calling, which the female usually initiates. She stands with her wings folded and beak pointed to the sky and emits a series of trumpeting calls. The male stands alongside in a similar posture, but with his wings flared and primaries drooping, which is the only time when sex can be differentiated reliably. The male emits one longer call for every two emitted by

4371-413: The diet varies by location, season, and availability. Within the wide range of items consumed, some patterns are suggested but require specific investigation to confirm; the shorter-billed species usually feed in drier uplands, while the longer-billed species feed in wetlands. Cranes employ different foraging techniques for different food types and in different habitats. Tubers and rhizomes are dug for and

4464-626: The drainage of wetlands, collision with powerlines, burning and grazing regimes, spread of invasive species, and harvesting of eggs. It is more secure in the north-eastern part of its distribution range as the floodplains of Queensland are mostly unsuitable for farming and much of it is in private ownership, but development activities that change or reduce habitat diversity, especially in the Gulf Plains, can have unknown impacts on their populations. Wind farms are an emerging threat, and research on movement and habitat use by breeding pairs and chicks show

4557-453: 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 are used for flocking during

4650-400: The entirety of the breeding season. Even the demoiselle crane and blue crane, which may nest and feed in grasslands (or even arid grasslands or deserts), require wetlands for roosting at night. The Sarus Crane in south Asia is unique in having a significant breeding population using agricultural fields to breed in areas alongside very high density of humans and intensive farming , largely due to

4743-403: The eye. The iris is divided into two major regions: The collarette is the thickest region of the iris, separating the pupillary portion from the ciliary portion. The collarette is a vestige of the coating of the embryonic pupil. It is typically defined as the region where the sphincter muscle and dilator muscle overlap. Radial ridges extend from the periphery to the pupillary zone, to supply

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4836-452: The face, but the crowned cranes of the genus Balearica have vibrantly-coloured wings and golden "crowns" of feathers. Cranes fly with their necks extended outwards instead of bent into an S-shape and their long legs outstretched. Cranes live on most continents, with the exception of Antarctica and South America . Some species and populations of cranes migrate over long distances; others do not migrate at all. Cranes are solitary during

4929-470: The female. Brolgas are well known for their ritualised, intricate mating dances . The performance begins with a bird picking up some grass and tossing it into the air before catching it in its bill. The bird then jumps a metre (yard) into the air with outstretched wings and continues by stretching its neck, bowing, strutting around, calling, and bobbing its head up and down. Sometimes, just one brolga dances for its mate; often they dance in pairs; and sometimes

5022-506: The forest species is thought to help them maintain a less conspicuous profile while nesting; two of these species (the common and sandhill cranes ) also daub their feathers with mud which some observers suspect helps them to hide while nesting. Most crane species have bare patches of skin on their heads and can expand the patches in order to communicate aggression. Species lacking these bare patches use specialized feather tufts to signal similar information. Also important to communication

5115-484: The genus Grus , this genus name is obtained from the epithet of the common crane which is Ardea grus , it is named by Carl Linnaeus from the Latin word grus meaning "crane". The 15 living species of cranes are placed in four genera . A molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that the genus Grus , as then defined, was polyphyletic . In the resulting rearrangement to create monophyletic genera,

5208-516: 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 , frogs , and lizards . In saltwater marshes, they may drink saline water, as they have glands near their eyes through which they can excrete excess salt . Isotopic analyses of molted feathers in their breeding grounds along

5301-536: The importance of locating turbines away from wetlands important for night roosting. Conservation measures being undertaken include international cooperation, legal protection, research, monitoring, habitat management, education, and the maintenance of captive flocks for propagation and reintroduction. Although the bird breeds well in the wild, breeding it in captivity has proved to be much more problematic. [REDACTED] The dictionary definition of brolga at Wiktionary Crane (bird) See text Cranes are

5394-592: The interim. Breeding pairs maintain discrete territories within which they raise chicks. Territory sizes in Victoria, south-eastern Australia, ranged between 70 and 523 hectares, and each crane territory had a mix of farmland and wetlands. Families roosted in wetlands at night, and moved an average distance of 442 m to and from these night roosts. Each family used multiple wetlands within their territories, either switching between them, or using wetlands sequentially. Breeding success of territorial pairs (estimated as percentage of pairs that successfully fledged at least one chick)

5487-405: The iris is due to a lack of pigmentation, as in the pinkish-white of oculocutaneous albinism , or to obscuration of its pigment by blood vessels, as in the red of an abnormally vascularised iris. Despite the wide range of colors, the only pigment that contributes substantially to normal iris color is the dark pigment melanin . The quantity of melanin pigment in the iris is one factor in determining

5580-423: The iris radially to enlarge the pupil, pulling it in folds. The sphincter pupillae is the opposing muscle of the dilator pupillae. The pupil's diameter, and thus the inner border of the iris, changes size when constricting or dilating. The outer border of the iris does not change size. The constricting muscle is located on the inner border. The back surface is covered by a heavily pigmented epithelial layer that

5673-408: The iris with blood vessels. The root of the iris is the thinnest and most peripheral. The muscle cells of the iris are smooth muscle in mammals and amphibians, but are striated muscle in reptiles (including birds). Many fish have neither, and, as a result, their irises are unable to dilate and contract, so that the pupil always remains of a fixed size. From anterior (front) to posterior (back),

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5766-419: The layers of the iris are: The stroma and the anterior border layer of the iris are derived from the neural crest , and behind the stroma of the iris, the sphincter pupillae and dilator pupillae muscles, as well as the iris epithelium, develop from optic cup neuroectoderm. The iris controls the size of the pupil by means of contracting the iris sphincter muscle and/or the iris dilator muscle . The size of

5859-499: The lifetime of the birds. Pair bonds begin to form in the second or third years of life, but several years pass before the first successful breeding season. Initial breeding attempts often fail, and in many cases, newer pair bonds dissolve (divorce) after unsuccessful breeding attempts. Pairs that are repeatedly successful at breeding remain together for as long as they continue to do so. In a study of sandhill cranes in Florida, seven of

5952-436: The mainland. Brolgas probably rival black-necked storks and sarus cranes as the tallest flying birds in Australia. The brolga can easily be confused with the sarus crane , but the latter's red head-colouring extends partly down the neck, while the brolga's is confined to the head. The brolga is more silvery-grey in colour than the sarus, the legs are blackish rather than pink, and the trumpeting and grating calls it makes are at

6045-453: The markings being denser at the larger end of the egg. They measure 95 by 61 mm (3.7 by 2.4 in), though larger eggs were found in a clutch of three eggs. 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 newly hatched chicks are covered with grey down and weigh about 100 g (3.5 oz). They are precocial and are able to leave

6138-452: The most common pattern being one uniformly blue, the other copper, orange, yellow, or green. Striking variation within the same iris is also common in some animals, and is the norm in some species. Several herding breeds, particularly those with a blue merle coat color (such as Australian Shepherds and Border Collies ) may show well-defined blue areas within a brown iris, as well as separate blue and darker eyes. Some horses (usually within

6231-664: The most due to their loud duet calls that can be used to distinguish individual pairs. Sarus crane trios produce synchronized unison calls called "triets" whose structure is identical to duets of normal pairs, but have a lower frequency. The cranes consume a wide range of food, both animal and plant matter. When feeding on land, they consume seeds, leaves, nuts and acorns, berries, fruit, insects, worms, snails, small reptiles, mammals, and birds. In wetlands and agriculture fields, roots, rhizomes, tubers, and other parts of emergent plants, other molluscs, small fish, eggs of birds and amphibians are also consumed, as well. The exact composition of

6324-468: The naturalist George Perry in 1810, the brolga was misclassified as a species of Ardea , the genus that includes the herons and egrets . It is, in fact, a member of the Gruiformes —the order that includes the crakes , rails , and cranes , and a member of the genus Antigone . Ornithologist John Gould used the name Grus australasianus when he wrote about it and noted it to be widespread in

6417-413: The nest within a day or two. Both parents feed and guard the young. The chicks fledge within 4–5 weeks, are fully feathered within 3 months, and are able to fly about 2 weeks later. When threatened, they hide and stay quiet, while the parents perform a broken-wing display to distract the predator. The adults continue to protect the young for up to 11 months, or for nearly 2 years if they do not breed again in

6510-463: The north and east of Australia. He also recorded that it was easy to tame, and that James Macarthur had kept a pair at his home in Camden . Calling it the Australian crane, he mentioned that its early colonial name had been native companion. The Royal Australasian Ornithologists Union made brolga, a popular name derived from Gamilaraay burralga , the official name for the bird in 1926. In 1976, it

6603-499: The northern part of Western Australia. The population in northern Australia is estimated at between 20,000 and 100,000 birds and in southern Australia, 1,000 birds. The number of individuals in New Guinea is 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 nonbreeding areas regularly, and

6696-446: The optical effects. Interference is recognised by characteristic dependence of color on the angle of view, as seen in eyespots of some butterfly wings , although the chemical components remain the same. White babies are usually born blue-eyed since no pigment is in the stroma, and their eyes appear blue due to scattering and selective absorption from the posterior epithelium. If melanin is deposited substantially, brown or black color

6789-540: The other hand, it is peculiar that numerous fossils of Ciconiiformes are documented from there; these birds presumably shared much of their habitat with cranes back then already. Cranes are sister taxa to Eogruidae , a lineage of flightless birds; as predicted by the fossil record of true cranes, eogruids were native to the Old World. A species of true crane, Antigone cubensis , has similarly become flightless and ratite-like. Fossil genera are tentatively assigned to

6882-410: The other iris (complete heterochromia), or where the part of one iris is a different color from the remainder (partial heterochromia or sectoral heterochromia). Uncommon in humans, it is often an indicator of ocular disease, such as chronic iritis or diffuse iris melanoma, but may also occur as a normal variant. Sectors or patches of strikingly different colors in the same iris are less common. Anastasius

6975-414: The other stromal components. Sometimes, lipofuscin , a yellow "wear and tear" pigment, also enters into the visible eye color, especially in aged or diseased green eyes. The optical mechanisms by which the nonpigmented stromal components influence eye color are complex, and many erroneous statements exist in the literature. Simple selective absorption and reflection by biological molecules ( hemoglobin in

7068-510: The overall color. The degree of dispersion of the melanin, which is in subcellular bundles called melanosomes , has some influence on the observed color, but melanosomes in the iris of humans and other vertebrates are not mobile, and the degree of pigment dispersion cannot be reversed. Abnormal clumping of melanosomes does occur in disease and may lead to irreversible changes in iris color (see heterochromia , below). Colors other than brown or black are due to selective reflection and absorption from

7161-569: The pair's chicks. Trios of Sarus cranes were seen largely in marginal habitats and third birds were young suggesting that third cranes would benefit by gaining experience. The cranes' beauty and spectacular mating dances have made them highly symbolic birds in many cultures with records dating back to ancient times. Crane mythology can be found in cultures around the world, from India to the Aegean , Arabia , China , Korea , Japan , Australia , and North America. The Sanskrit epic poet Valmiki

7254-413: The phenotypic eye color of an organism. Structurally, this huge molecule is only slightly different from its equivalent found in skin and hair . Iris color is due to variable amounts of eumelanin (brown/black melanins) and pheomelanin (red/yellow melanins) produced by melanocytes. More of the former is found in brown-eyed people and of the latter in blue- and green-eyed people. The limbal ring appears as

7347-542: The positive attitudes of farmers towards the cranes. In Australia, the Brolga occurs in the breeding areas of Sarus Cranes in Queensland state, and they achieve sympatry by using different habitats. Sarus Cranes in Queensland largely live in Eucalyptus -dominated riverine, while most Brolgas use non-wooded regional ecosystems that include vast grassland habitats. The only two species that do not always roost in wetlands are

7440-441: The present-day subfamilies: Gruinae Sometimes considered Balearicinae Sometimes considered Gruidae incertae sedis The cranes have a cosmopolitan distribution , occurring across most of the world continents. They are absent from Antarctica and, mysteriously, South America. East Asia has the highest crane diversity, with eight species, followed by Africa, which is home to five resident species and wintering populations of

7533-401: The pupils is dependent on many factors (including light, emotional state, cognitive load, arousal, stimulation), and can range from less than 2 mm in diameter, to as large as 9 mm in diameter. However, there is considerable variation in maximal pupil diameter by individual humans, and decreases with age. The irises also contract the pupils when accommodation is initiated, to increase

7626-399: The recovery and future management of this species has been prepared. It is also included in the 2007 advisory list of threatened vertebrate fauna in Victoria where it is listed as vulnerable . The suspected chief threats faced by the brolga, particularly in the southern part of its range, are habitat destruction particularly spread of blue gum ( Eucalyptus globulus ) into breeding habitats,

7719-567: The red band and have fully feathered heads with dark irises. A fully grown brolga can reach a height of 0.7 to 1.4 m (2 ft 4 in to 4 ft 7 in) and has a wingspan of 1.7 to 2.4 m (5 ft 7 in to 7 ft 10 in). Adult males have an average body mass of 6.8 kg (15 lb) with females averaging 5.66 kg (12.5 lb). The weight can range from 3.6 to 8.7 kg (7.9 to 19.2 lb). Heights up to 1.8 m (5 ft 11 in) in male brolga have been reported but presumably need confirmation. The brolga

7812-519: The rock in its raised claw. Aristotle describes the migration of cranes in the History of Animals , adding an account of their fights with Pygmies as they wintered near the source of the Nile . Battles between cranes and dwarf peoples, or geranomachy, is a widespread motif of antiquity and come from China and Arabia at least from the fifth century. Aristotle describes as untruthful an account that

7905-401: The two African crowned cranes ( Balearica ), which are the only cranes to roost in trees. Some crane species are sedentary, remaining in the same area throughout the year, while others are highly migratory , traveling thousands of kilometres each year from their breeding sites. A few species like Sarus Cranes have both migratory and sedentary populations, and healthy sedentary populations have

7998-446: The white, spotted, palomino, or cremello groups of breeds) may show amber, brown, white and blue all within the same eye, without any sign of eye disease. One eye with a white or bluish-white iris is also known as a "walleye". Iridology (also known as iridodiagnosis) is an alternative medicine technique whose proponents believe that patterns, colors, and other characteristics of the iris can be examined to determine information about

8091-813: The world's tallest flying birds. They range in size from the demoiselle crane , which measures 90 cm (35 in) in length, to the sarus crane , which can be up to 176 cm (69 in), although the heaviest is the red-crowned crane , which can weigh 12 kg (26 lb) prior to migrating. They are long-legged and long-necked birds with streamlined bodies and large, rounded wings. The males and females do not vary in external appearance, but males tend to be slightly larger than females. The plumage of cranes varies by habitat. Species inhabiting vast, open wetlands tend to have more white in their plumage than do species that inhabit smaller wetlands or forested habitats, which tend to be more grey. These white species are also generally larger. The smaller size and colour of

8184-620: The year in south Asia, and non-breeding birds live in flocks that can also be seen throughout the year. Large aggregations of cranes likely increase safety for individual cranes when resting and flying and also increase chances for young unmated birds to meet partners. Cranes are highly vocal and have several specialized calls . The vocabulary begins soon after hatching with low, purring calls for maintaining contact with their parents, as well as food-begging calls. Other calls used as chicks include alarm calls and "flight intention" calls, both of which are maintained into adulthood. Cranes are noticed

8277-491: The year. In the nonbreeding season, they gather into large flocks, which appear to be many self-contained individual groups rather than a single social unit. Within the flock, families sometimes remain separate and coordinate their activities with one another rather than with the flock as a whole. In south-western Queensland, 26–40% of all crane sightings were breeding pairs and families in the Gilbert and Flinders river floodplains. Flocks were relatively rarer, but birds in flocks in

8370-532: Was 59% in the Gilbert River basin and 46% in the Flinders River basin (using a total of 80 pairs located on territories), with 33% of all successful pairs fledging two chicks each. The IUCN Red List of Threatened Species lists the brolga as being of " least concern " because it has a large range and a population of more than 10,000 individuals. Although the population may be declining slowly, this

8463-547: Was formerly placed in the genus Grus , but a molecular phylogenetic study published in 2010 found that the genus, as then defined, was polyphyletic . In the resulting rearrangement to create monophyletic genera, four species, including the brolga, were placed in the resurrected genus Antigone that had originally been erected by German naturalist Ludwig Reichenbach in 1853 Two subspecies were suspected to exist: A. r. argentea found in Western Australia ,

8556-477: Was inspired to write the first śloka couplet by the pathos of seeing a male sarus crane shot while dancing with its mate. In Mecca , in pre-Islamic Arabia, Allāt , Uzza , and Manāt were believed to be the three chief goddesses of Mecca, they were called the "three exalted cranes" ( gharaniq , an obscure word on which 'crane' is the usual gloss ). See The Satanic Verses for the best-known story regarding these three goddesses. The Greek for crane

8649-400: Was suggested that the brolga, sarus crane ( Antigone antigone ), and white-naped crane ( Antigone vipio ) formed a natural group on the basis of similarities in their calls. This was further confirmed by molecular studies of their DNA. These also showed that the brolga is more closely related to the white-naped crane than it is to the morphologically more similar sarus crane. The brolga

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