Brolga

Antigone rubicunda

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 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 of colour on its head. The brolga's courting dance is similar to that of other cranes, and is well recognized by Australians. 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 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.