Adults: Tall mid to silver-grey. Bill, straight and horn colored. Eye, yellow. Forehead, pale grey. Crown, pale grey. Head, and rear of head, red. Chin, distinctive blackish 'haired' dewlap. Legs, dark grey.
Food
Insects, small rodents, frogs and reptiles. Also herbage. Occasionally causes damage to grain crops.
Voice
Far-carrying whooping trumpet, uttered in flight or when standing. Mated pairs point bills skyward in antiphonal duets, ending in staccato cacophony, 'kawee-kreee-kurr-kurr-kurr-kurr-kurr'. Male lifts wing in 'tent' while calling. Also yelps, hoarse staccoto croaks. At distance call can be confused with that of Channel-billed Cuckoo (Scythrops novaehollandiae). Chicks, peep.
Brolga (Antigone rubicunda) [XC326236]
by Marc Anderson from Lakefield National Park, QLD, Australia (call)
Brolga (Antigone rubicunda) [XC819389]
by James Lambert from Holmes, Darwin Municipality, Northern Territory, Australia (flight call)
Breeding Season (Guide)
July - March, southern Australia, September - June, northern Australia.
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Nest
Sometimes the eggs are laid directly on the ground without fist constructing a nest. Sometimes they are rimmed with pieces of reeds, plants or grass, but most often it consists of a substantial platform of grass-tussocks, reeds and similar material placed in a swamp.
Eggs (Guide)
Usually 2; cream with reddish-brown and lavender markings; tapered-oval; about 92 x 61 mm. Incubation: about 28 - 30 days; by both sexes.
Young
Precocial, nidifugous. Both parents brood and guard young or up to 11 months or about 24 months if there is no re-nesting.
Subspecies
Will interbreed with Sarus Crane (Antigone antigone) to form a superspecies.
Northern (argentea) and southern (rubicunda) populations formerly placed in separate subspecies,. Subspecific division no longer widely accepted, although the two populations are probably independent.
No subspecies.
Similar Species
Sarus Crane (Antigone antigone) which is larger and does not have a dewlap. Deeper scarlet extends further down neck. Legs, pink. In flight only the primaries are darker than rest of wing.
References
See References.
The Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Pizzey, G., and Knight, E., 1997, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 19691 5
Field Guide to Australian Birds Morecombe, M., 2000, Steve Parish Publishing Pty Ltd. ISBN 1 876282 10 X
Field Guide to the Birds of Australia Simpson, K., and Day, N., 1999, 6th Edition, Viking ISBN 0 670 87918 5
Reader's Digest Complete Book of Australian Birds 1988, 2nd Edition, Reader's Digest ISBN 0 949819 99 9
What Bird is That? 1984, Revised Edition, Angus & Robertson, Sydney ISBN 0 207 14846 5
Handbook of Australian, New Zealand & Antarctic Birds 1990 - , Oxford University Press, Melbourne ISBN 0 19 553244 9
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