Black-tailed Nativehen
Tribonyx ventralis· 秧鸡科(1 photos)
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Black-tailed Nativehen
30-36 cm. Dark, fleet-footed native-hen with an erect, black, square 'bantam's tail'; green-red bill, yellow eye; white streaks on flanks; red legs. Singles, parties to companies of thousands: runs swiftly across paddocks and margins of swamps, claypans; 'camps' under nearby trees, lignum, etc.; tame around homesteads. Swims readily; flies strongly with rapid shallow wingbeats, legs trailing.
- Other name
- Barcoo Bantam.
- Similar Species
- Dusky Moorhen: yellow-tipped scarlet bill and shield; dark eye; tail has white edges. Tasmanian Native-hen.
- Voice
- usually silent, but utters single, very high-pitched note, like striking silvery anvil, at c. 2-second intervals. Also a rapid, harsh, scratchy, metallic chorus of 'yapyapyapyap'.
- Habitat
- open margins of wetlands, lakes, rivers; wet claypans, especially in lignum; open woodland; pastures, crops, gardens.
- Breeding
- June-Dec., but any month after flooding rains.
- Nest
- flattish structure of grass; on ground among bushes or lignum; often near others.
- Eggs
- 5-7; pale green, with brown dots and bold blotches of chestnut-brown; underlying spots of lavender-grey.
- Range & Status
- Aust.; mostly inland of Divide and s. of tropics; well established from Murray-Darling region and L. Eyre basin to se. SA; coastal and sub-coastal WA. After floods, or in drought, may appear almost anywhere: small to large numbers arrive sometimes overnight, breed and quickly depart. Scarce, mostly summer, visitor Kimberley (WA) andn. Q. (but not C. York Pen.). Casual coastal e. Aust., Top End (NT) and w. deserts (NT and WA). Vagrant Tas., NZ. Dispersive; irruptive, opportunistic in response to rainfall.
