- Houbaropsis bengalensis
Identification
Male 64 cm (25¼ in), Female 68 cm (26¾ in)
Male
- Black overall plumage
- Large white wing panel on closed wing
In flight, wings wholly white apart from black tips.
Female and immature: buffy-brown to sandy-rufous overall plumage. Wing-coverts buffish-white with fine, dark bars.
Distribution
Two distinct populations; one in India and Nepal. The other in Cambodia and Vietnam.
Taxonomy
Eupodotis vs. Houbaropsis
Some authorities (Sibley & Monroe, 1996) lump the genus Houbaropsis within Eupodotis. however there now seems to be a consensus for using Houbaropsis.
Subspecies
There are 2 subspecies[1]:
- H. b. bengalensis:
- H. b. blandini:
Habitat
Lowland, flat grassland, interspersed with scattered scrub or patchy open forest.
Behaviour
Diet
The diet consists mostly of vegetable matter in the non-breeding season, with the addition of invertebrates in the breeding season.
Breeding
They nest in a bare scrape. The clutch consists of 1 or 2 eggs which are incubated by the female for 25–28 days. The female cares for the young.
References
- Clements, J. F., T. S. Schulenberg, M. J. Iliff, D. Roberson, T. A. Fredericks, B. L. Sullivan, and C. L. Wood. 2018. The eBird/Clements checklist of birds of the world: v2018. Downloaded from http://www.birds.cornell.edu/clementschecklist/download/
- BirdLife International
- Handbook of the Birds of the World Alive (retrieved February 2016)
- Wikipedia
Recommended Citation
- BirdForum Opus contributors. (2025) Bengal Florican. In: BirdForum, the forum for wild birds and birding. Retrieved 29 April 2025 from https://www.birdforum.net/opus/Bengal_Florican
External Links
GSearch checked for 2020 platform.1
