Rostratula benghalensis

Life-forms

Superregnum: Eukaryota
Cladus: Unikonta
Cladus: Opisthokonta
Cladus: Holozoa
Regnum: Animalia
Subregnum: Eumetazoa
Cladus: Bilateria
Cladus: Nephrozoa
Superphylum: Deuterostomia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Vertebrata
Infraphylum: Gnathostomata
Megaclassis: Osteichthyes
Cladus: Sarcopterygii
Cladus: Rhipidistia
Cladus: Tetrapodomorpha
Cladus: Eotetrapodiformes
Cladus: Elpistostegalia
Superclassis: Tetrapoda
Cladus: Reptiliomorpha
Cladus: Amniota
Classis: Reptilia
Cladus: Eureptilia
Cladus: Romeriida
Subclassis: Diapsida
Cladus: Sauria
Infraclassis: Archosauromorpha
Cladus: Crurotarsi
Divisio: Archosauria
Cladus: Avemetatarsalia
Cladus: Ornithodira
Subtaxon: Dinosauromorpha
Cladus: Dinosauriformes
Cladus: Dracohors
Cladus: Dinosauria
Ordo: Saurischia
Cladus: Eusaurischia
Subordo: Theropoda
Cladus: Neotheropoda
Cladus: Averostra
Cladus: Tetanurae
Cladus: Avetheropoda
Cladus: Coelurosauria
Cladus: Tyrannoraptora
Cladus: Maniraptoromorpha
Cladus: Maniraptoriformes
Cladus: Maniraptora
Cladus: Pennaraptora
Cladus: Paraves
Cladus: Eumaniraptora
Cladus: Avialae
Infraclassis: Aves
Cladus: Euavialae
Cladus: Avebrevicauda
Cladus: Pygostylia
Cladus: Ornithothoraces
Cladus: Ornithuromorpha
Cladus: Carinatae
Parvclassis: Neornithes
Cohors: Neognathae
Cladus: Neoaves
Ordo: Charadriiformes
Subordo: Charadrii

Familia: Rostratulidae
Genus: Rostratula
Species: Rostratula benghalensis
Name

Rostratula benghalensis (Linnaeus, 1758)
References

Systema Naturae ed.10 p. 153
Rostratula benghalensis – Taxon details on Integrated Taxonomic Information System (ITIS).

Vernacular names
Afrikaans: Goudsnip
বাংলা: বাংলা রাঙাচ্যাগা
català: Becadell pintat gros
Deutsch: Goldschnepfen
English: Greater Painted-snipe
Esperanto: Azia buntgalinago
español: Aguatero bengalí
فارسی: پاشلک شال‌گردنی بزرگ
suomi: Kultakurppo
français: Rhynchée peinte
magyar: Nagy guvatszalonka
italiano: Beccaccino dorato
日本語: タマシギ
한국어: 호사도요
Bahasa Melayu: Burung Meragi
नेपाली: चित्राङ्गड
Nederlands: Goudsnippen
polski: Złotosłonka bengalska
پنجابی: وڈا رنگین سنائپ
português: Narceja-pintada
svenska: Rallbeckasin
Türkçe: Eskidünya boyalı su çulluğu
Tiếng Việt: Nhát hoa lớn
粵語: 彩鷸
中文: 彩鷸

The greater painted-snipe (Rostratula benghalensis) is a species of wader in the family Rostratulidae. It is found in marshes in Africa, South Asia and South-east Asia.[2]

Description
Female on left is more colourful.

Medium-sized, plump wading bird. Long reddish-brown bill, slightly decurved at tip, and distinct white or pinkish eye patch. Rounded, buff-spotted wings and short tail. White of breast extends up around top of folded wing. The painted-snipe is not related to the true snipes and differs from them in habits, flight and appearance, being far more colorful and having longer legs than the snipes. It is unusual in that the female is larger and more brightly colored than the male, with the sides of the head, neck and throat a rich chestnut brown, and a distinct black band across the breast; the male is paler and greyer.
Behaviour

Not a vocal species; the male at times utters a shrill trill, while the female makes a guttural ook sound as well as hissing noises during breeding displays.

Usually found close to the fringes of reed beds along shorelines of marshes, swamps, ponds and streams.

Solitary or in pairs, sometimes in groups of up to 12. Rather shy and retiring, skulking close to the vegetation so that it can retreat to cover if disturbed. When flushed, flies like a rail with legs dangling. Bobs hindquarters on landing and sometimes when walking. Probes for food in the mud. The female initiates courtship and may mate with more than one male. The male incubates the eggs and takes the parental care.
Food and feeding

They feed on insects, crustaceans, molluscs and seeds.
Reproduction

The females court the males, are polyandrous[3][4] with males incubating and raising the young as predicted by parental investment theory. Chicks are buff coloured and have black stripes running along their length.[5] Immature birds resemble the male but lack the broken dark band across the breast. Males are also known to carry the chicks to safety under the wings.

The nest is usually a shallow scrape in soft ground, lined with plant material and situated among grass or reeds at the water's edge; sometimes a pad of vegetation or a nest of grass and weeds. The breeding season is between April and July.

References

BirdLife International (2016). "Rostratula benghalensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2016: e.T22735810A95118332. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2016-3.RLTS.T22735810A95118332.en. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
"Rostratula benghalensis (Greater Painted-snipe) - Avibase". avibase.bsc-eoc.org. Retrieved 2017-10-16.
Shigemoto Komeda (1983). "Nest Attendance of Parent Birds in the Painted Snipe (Rostratula benghalensis)". The Auk. 100 (1): 48–55. doi:10.1093/auk/100.1.48.
Wesley, HD (1993). "Breeding behaviour sequential polyandry and population decline in (Rostratula benghalensis)". In Verghese, A; Sridhar, S; Chakravarthy, AK (eds.). Bird Conservation: Strategies for the Nineties and Beyond. Ornithological Society of India, Bangalore. pp. 166–172.
Wesley, H Daniel. "A male painted snipe and his chick". Newsletter for Birdwatchers. 30 (7&8): 3.