Kagu

Appearance

Its plumage is unusually bright for a bird of the forest floor. Ash-grey and white coloured. Little sexual dimorphism is seen beyond a difference in the amount of barring in the primary feathers. It is nearly flightless, using its wings for displays (its primary wing feathers are patterned) and moving quickly through the forest.

The wings are not reduced in size like in most other flightless birds, and have a span around 77.5 cm (30.5 in), but they lack the musculature for flight.

The Kagu is a ground-living bird, 55 cm (22 in) in length. The weight can vary considerably by individual and by season, ranging from 700–1,100 g (25–39 oz).

Published measurements include mass about 50.

Range and habitat

The Kagu is endemic to the forests and shrubland of New Caledonia. Within that island group, it is restricted to the main island of Grande Terre. No evidence has been found that shows that it occurred on the Loyalty Islands, although fossil remains of the extinct lowland form R. Orarius have been found on the Isle of Pines.

Pins are Wikidata “endemic to” fields. Orange dots, when present, are GBIF occurrence tiles — survey bias included.

Diet and breeding

The species has a clan-based social organization, with families composed of one breeding female and one to three breeding males. Cases where either the breeding male or female have been killed have led to nonfraternal polyandrous behaviour.

Within the territory, the pairs are solitary during the nonbreeding season and may have separate but overlapping foraging areas. The Kagu is exclusively carnivorous, feeding on a variety of animals, with annelid worms, snails, and lizards being among the most important prey items. Kagus are monogamous breeders, generally forming long-term pair bonds that are maintained for many years, even possibly life.

In crisis

It has proven vulnerable to introduced predators and is threatened with extinction. The Kagu's initial decline was caused by subsistence hunting. It is threatened by introduced cats, pigs, and dogs.

New Caledonia lacked mammals (except for bats) Before people arrived, and many of its native species have been negatively affected by introduced mammals. A visiting American scientist noted in 1948 that the extinction of the species was probable, and identified the many threats the species faced.

CITES lists this taxon on Appendix I. Confirm the current appendix on the CITES checklist.

Kagu is Endangered on this catalog because that is the IUCN category stored on Wikidata. Confirm the official criteria and any later count on iucnredlist.org.

Sources

Written for this catalog from the English Wikipedia article on Kagu, Wikidata item Q669634. Family and order context is original field-guide writing about the group, not a copied assessment of this one species. Wikipedia text is CC BY-SA. Not an IUCN assessment. Counts, when quoted, can change — confirm them on the recovery programme and on iucnredlist.org.