Editing Brolga (section)

==Description==
The brolga is a tall bird with a large beak, a long and slender neck, and stilt-like legs. The sexes are indistinguishable in appearance, though females are usually a little smaller.{{sfn|Marchant|Higgins|1993|p=470}} The adult has a grey-green, skin-covered crown, and the face, cheeks, and throat pouch are also featherless and are coral red. Other parts of the head are olive green and clothed in dark bristles. The gular pouch, which is particularly pendulous in adult males, is covered with such dense bristles as to make it appear black. The beak is greyish-green in adult birds, long and slender, and the [[Iris (anatomy)|iris]]es are yellowish-orange. The ear [[covert]]s appear as a grey patch of small feathers surrounded by red naked skin and the body plumage is silvery-grey. The feathers on the back and the wing coverts have pale margins. The primary wing feathers are black and the secondaries grey. The legs and feet are greyish-black. Juveniles lack the red band and have fully feathered heads with dark irises. A fully grown brolga can reach a height of {{convert|0.7|to|1.4|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} and has a wingspan of {{convert|1.7|to|2.4|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}}. Adult males have an average body mass of {{convert|6.8|kg|abbr=on}} with females averaging {{convert|5.66|kg|abbr=on}}. The weight can range from {{convert|3.6|to|8.7|kg|abbr=on}}.<ref name=Gould/><ref name=Johnsgard>{{cite journal |title=Cranes of the World: Australian Crane (Grus rubicundus) |journal=Cranes of the World |last=Johnsgard |first=Paul |author-link=Paul Johnsgard |year=1983 |pages = 140–148 |url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/bioscicranes/2/ }}</ref><ref name= CRC>{{cite book |title=''CRC Handbook of Avian Body Masses'' |edition=2nd |editor-first=John B. Jr. |editor-last=Dunning |publisher=CRC Press |year=2008 |isbn=978-1-4200-6444-5}}</ref><ref>Wilson, D., & Organ, A. (2015). ''The Use of Aerial Surveys for the Detection of the Brolga Grus rubicunda Through South-West Victoria: Key Considerations for the Wind Industry''. In Wind and Wildlife (pp. 59-68). Springer, Dordrecht.</ref> Heights up to {{convert|1.8|m|ftin|0|abbr=on}} in male brolga have been reported but presumably need confirmation.<ref>Miller, A. (2016). ''The development of microsatellite loci through next generation sequencing, and a preliminary assessment of population genetic structure for the iconic Australian crane, Brolga (Antigone rubicunda)''. Nature Glenelg Trust, Warrnambool, Victoria.</ref> The brolga is the heaviest flying bird regularly found in mainland Australia, averaging slightly higher in body mass than other large resident species such as [[black swan]], [[Australian pelican]] and the Australian race of [[sarus crane]] (Asian sarus cranes are heavier and significantly taller). Brolgas are as well as much heavier on average than the biggest flying land birds such as the very sexually-dimorphic [[Australian bustard]] and [[wedge-tailed eagle]]), although heavier birds such as [[wandering albatross]] may be seen as marine vagrants off the mainland.<ref name= CRC/> Brolgas probably rival black-necked storks and sarus cranes as the tallest flying birds in Australia.<ref name=Gould/><ref name=Johnsgard/>

The brolga can easily be confused with the [[sarus crane]], but the latter's red head-colouring extends partly down the neck, while the brolga's is confined to the head. The brolga is more silvery-grey in colour than the sarus, the legs are blackish rather than pink, and the trumpeting and grating calls it makes are at a lower pitch. Additionally, in Australia, sarus crane distribution is limited to north-eastern areas, compared to the more widespread distribution of the brolga.<ref name=Johnsgard/>

[[File:Head and neck-Brogla.jpg|thumb]]