Which EDGE species will you vote for : The Plains wanderer or the Maleo? (Poll)

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Sixth poll (only four more to go) on EDGE bird species: This time it is a match between the monotypic: the maleo and the plains wanderer.

Both of these intriguing species are amongst the most evolutionarily distinct of birds and remain poorly known by science and yet both species have sadly seen catastrophic population declines due to habitat destruction.

Which of these bird species interests you most / will you vote for ?

Please also feel free to write comments regarding why you made the choice and why the species you have voted for interests you more.

Thanks !

Look forward to seeing the results!

Photo credits to @ronnienl and @Jabiru96.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Two nice short videos about the in-situ and ex-situ conservation situation of both of the species featured in this poll.

Plains wanderer:

Maleo:

 

[Tetzoo Quizzer]

Plains-wanderer for me based on evolutionary distinctiveness; but both are on my “to see” list; I should have seen Maleo in 2020, but something interrupted travel, hopefully to be rescheduled next year. I plan to see Plains-wanderer once Australia opens up again and weather conditions look suitable (no drought). When I do this, I have unfinished business with Malleefowl...

 

[TinoPup]

Maleo is more fun to say

 

[Haliaeetus]

I vote for the Maleo : its breeding behaviour is really unique.
And it has became a symbol for the inhabitants of the Indonesian island where it lives.

 

[Tim May]

My vote goes to the plains-wanderer as the only member of a monotypic family.

The plains-wanderer is also interesting as it is a species very rarely housed in European zoos; ZooTierListe only records London Zoo as ever keeping the species.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Plains-wanderer for me based on evolutionary distinctiveness; but both are on my “to see” list; I should have seen Maleo in 2020, but something interrupted travel, hopefully to be rescheduled next year. I plan to see Plains-wanderer once Australia opens up again and weather conditions look suitable (no drought). When I do this, I have unfinished business with Malleefowl...

Thank you for the comment and for voting @Tetzoo Quizzer !

Yes, I voted for the plains wanderer for the same reason, it is really a fascinating little species.

Hope you get to see both of these in the wild soon !

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Maleo is more fun to say

Thanks for the comment and for voting @TinoPup !

Fair enough

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

I vote for the Maleo : its breeding behaviour is really unique.
And it has became a symbol for the inhabitants of the Indonesian island where it lives.

Thanks for the comment and for voting @Haliaeetus!

Definitely an interesting bird and yes it is great how it has become a cultural symbol for the peoples of Sulawesi and this salience is a very positive development for its conservation IMO.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

My vote goes to the plains-wanderer as the only member of a monotypic family.

The plains-wanderer is also interesting as it is a species very rarely housed in European zoos; ZooTierListe only records London Zoo as ever keeping the species.

Thank you for the comment and for voting @Tim May !

Fascinating and unique species for sure !

That is interesting, when did the London zoo have the species ?

I could be wrong but I don't think it would ever be kept by European zoos but on a more positive note it seems that they are kept by a couple of zoos in Australia which have had some captive breeding and reintroduction success:

 

[Pertinax]

I vote Plains Wanderer, just for the sad name... conjures up the image of a lonely little bird condemned to wandering open spaces all its life...

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

I vote Plains Wanderer, just for the sad name... conjures up the image of a lonely little bird condemned to wandering open spaces all its life...

Totally agree , lol, the name is quite melancholic / enigmatic isn't it ?

In terms of their social behaviour not so lonely apparently but quite unusual as this species forms serially polyandrous breeding pairs with the males incubating the eggs and raising the young.

Another very peculiar aspect of this bird is that its closest relatives are the wading birds of South America, however, this is a species which inhabits the Australian grasslands, a legacy of Gondwanaland.

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Seems like this is currently a very close one

 

[Onychorhynchus coronatus]

Looks like the maleo won this poll over the plains wanderer.

Here is a video from the Bronx zoo of these amazing birds discussing ex-situ and in-situ efforts supported by the zoo to celebrate its victory in the poll: