Leg colours varies from very dark to olive grey. Bill colours also variable – grey or brownish. Non-breeding adult duller, dark brown, with neck and finely but densely streaked whitish. Immature similar to non-breeding birds, with oily green sheen.
Not Threatened.
Leg colours varies from very dark to olive grey. Bill colours also variable – grey or brownish. Non-breeding adult duller, dark brown, with neck and finely but densely streaked whitish. Immature similar to non-breeding birds, with oily green sheen.
48.5-66 cm, 485-580 g, wingspan 80-95 cm
Taxonomy:
- Tantalus Falcinellus Linnaeus, 1766, Austria, Italia; Neusiedler See, Lower Austria. Forms superspecies with P. chihi, which was formerly considered race of present species. Population of Philippines, Indonesia and Australia have been assigned separate race, peregrinus, but recent studies show that differences are not significant. Monotypic. (source: Handbook of the Birds of World)
Vagrant
Distribution:
- Wide discontinuous breeding distribution from S Europe, Africa and Madagascar to C and S Asia, Philippines, Sulawesi and Java; S New Guinea and Australia. Also Atlantic coast of North America and West Indies; has bred in Venezuela. Occurs more widely as vagrant.
Shallow lakes, swamps, lagoons, sewage ponds, rivers, floodplains, wet meadows, rice fields. Less often in costal lagoons. Nest in freshawater or brackish wetland, usually in tall, dense stand of reed or rushes.
Mainly adults of larvae of insect, including aquatic beetles, boatmen, dragonflies, flies, grasshoppers and crustaceans.
Unknown for PNG – in dry season in Africa.