Banded Stilt
| Banded Stilt | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Banded Stilts, Governors Lake, Rottnest Island | |
| Conservation status | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Chordata |
| Class: | Aves |
| Order: | Charadriiformes |
| Family: | Recurvirostridae |
| Genus: | Cladorhynchus G.R. Gray, 1840 |
| Species: | C. leucocephalus |
| Binomial name | |
| Cladorhynchus leucocephalus (Vieillot, 1816) | |
The Banded Stilt (Cladorhynchus leucocephalus) is a nomadic stilt endemic to Australia. It belongs to the monotypical genus Cladorhynchus. It gets its name from the red-brown breast band found on breeding adults, but this is mottled or entirely absent in non-breeding adults and juveniles. Its remaining plumage is pied and the eyes are dark brown. They breed whenever the water conditions are suitable for brine shrimp to flourish and lay 3-4 white, brown or black eggs on a scrape. The majority of observed breeding events have occurred at inland salt lakes in South Australia and Western Australia immediately following freshwater inflows. An exception to this exists where some breeding was attempted at The Coorong during a time in which salinity in the Lower Lakes was significantly elevated due to reduced environmental flows down the Murray River.[2]
The species is listed as Vulnerable under the South Australian Parks & Wildlife Act 1972.[3] The listing was made after breeding attempts observed at Lake Eyre revealed heavy predation from Silver gulls. DEWNR has developed a strategy for managing Silver gull predation at chosen Banded Stilt breeding sites by applying site-specific culling measures. Breeding events observed at ephemeral lakes in Western Australia have proven to be more successful without the need for intervention due to their remoteness.[2]
Various views and plumages
-
Adults on Rottnest Island
References
- ↑ BirdLife International (2012). "Cladorhynchus leucocephalus". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Version 2013.2. International Union for Conservation of Nature. Retrieved 26 November 2013.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Hollands, David "Waders: the shorebirds of Australia" Bloomings Books Pty Ltd, Melbourne, Australia (2012). ISBN 9781876473808
- ↑ National Parks & Wildlife Act 1972 Attorney General's Department, Government of South Australia. Accessed 2014-01-23.
- Marchant, S.; & Higgins, P.J. (Eds). (1993). Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds. Volume 2: Raptors to Lapwings. Oxford University Press: Melbourne. ISBN 0-19-553069-1
External links
- Thinking Like a Banded Stilt, Libby Robin 2002.