From Opus

Photo by Steve G
Location: Ka-ur wetlands, The Gambia

Balearica pavonina

[edit] Identification

Adult

• Sexes similar
• 104cm
• Mostly black body
• White upper and under wing coverts
• crown of stiff golden feathers
• Red and white cheek patches.

West African subspecies

• • Lower half of the cheek patch is red

Sudan subspecies

• • The red extends into the upper half of the cheek patch.

• Gular sac under the chin is small and dark. The gular sac is similar to a wattle, except that it can be inflated.
• Legs, toes, and bill are black.

Juveniles:

• Blackish, upper body feathers are edged rufous
• Lower body feathers are sandy buff
• Brown nape
• Face is feathered and buffy
• Crown is spiky and golden buff.

[edit] Distribution

Sub-Saharan Africa.

[edit] Taxonomy

[edit] Subspecies

• B. p. pavonina - Senegambia to Lake Chad
• B. p. ceciliae - Chad to Ethiopia and Kenya.

[edit] Habitat

Freshwater marshes, wetter grasslands, and the edges of water bodies.

[edit] Behaviour

[edit] Breeding

Its circular nest platform is built from grasses and sedges within or along the edges of densely vegetated wetlands. 2-5 eggs are laid and incubated by both sexes for 28-31 days.

[edit] Diet

The diet includes tips of grasses, seeds, insects, and other invertebrates, and small vertebrates.

[edit] References

International Crane Foundation

[edit] External Links