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  Brolga ( Grus rubicundus )



Brolga | Grus rubicundus photo
Brolga

Photograph by Nickolay Tilcheff. Some rights reserved.

Brolga | Grus rubicundus photo
Brolgas with chicks. Currumbin Sanctuary, Gold Coast, Australia..

Photograph by ozwildlife. Some rights reserved.

Brolga | Grus rubicundus photo
Brolga

Photograph copyright: Nickolay Tilcheff - all rights reserved. Used with permission.




BROLGA FACTS

distribution map showing range of Grus rubicundus in Australia

Description
The Brolga is a large grey crane, with bare red head and grey crown. It has grey legs .(The similar looking Sarus Crane, G. antigone has dull pink legs and the red of its head extending down the neck).

Size
1.0 to 1.3 m high, with a wingspan of 1.7 to 2.4 m

Environment
swamps, floodplains, farmland, grassland

Food
Brolga are omnivorous and eat a variety of wetland plants, insects, invertebrates, and small vertebrates such as frogs.

Breeding
Brolgas perform complex mating dances. Nest made of grass on small islands in swamps. 2 white spotted eggs.

Range
Brolgas are common in north and north-east Australia, especially north-east Queensland, and as far south as Victoria.



Classification
Class:Aves
Order:Gruiformes
Family:Gruidae
Genus:Grus
Species:rubicundus
Common Name:Brolga