Bannertail
 |
| Click image to enlarge |
Bannertail,
Vexillocaudalis pernicivolatus L 30-36 cm, WS 40-45 cm, Family: Glareolidae
IUCN Conservation Status: Least
Concern (LC)
Description:
Medium
to large wading bird with upright posture, short downcurved bill and distinct, showy
tail plumes. Buff-brown overall with pale sand-colored undersides and spots
covering the head and upperparts. Throat streaked and outline with dark edges.
Head large and flat. Legs yellowish and relatively long. Most obvious feature
is two large, flat tail feathers held vertically that are iridescent green with
a single large purplish eyespot, similar to peacock tail feathers. Sexes
similar. Juveniles similar to adults, but lack display feathers until three
months old.
Voice:
Vocalizes
often, especially during flight. Common calls are sharp, high pitched staccato
trills and chirps, similar to killdeer calls. During display flights they emit a
more complex series of trills and whines. Calling is faster and higher pitched
when alarmed.
Range and Habitat:
Range
encompasses most of Novasola east of the Paramounts, excluding Kosatka Island,
and separate populations in the Francis Islands and the Twin River Basin and
southern Charlotte Sound. They are found in open habitat like grassland and
shrubland, marsh and wetland, agricultural, farm, or rangeland, and
occasionally savannah and sparse woodland.
Discussion:
Bannertails
are extremely unique shorebirds, not just for Novasola, for a number of
reasons. As a member of the family Glareolidae, Bannertails are closely related
to Coursers and Pratincoles, and the only member of the group found in the
Americas. Like other members of the family, they are technically shorebirds in
the order Charadriiformes, same as plovers, sandpipers, and gulls. However,
glareolids are less associated with water, or indeed shores or wading. Bannertails,
while often found in wetlands and near bodies of water, are just as home in
arid grasslands or scrub desert. Bannertails are also unique for their namesake
feature, a pair of ornate display feathers extending from the tail not found on
any other member of the group. Bannertails show off these plumes during elaborate
courtship ritual flights and to ward off potential predators.
Bannertails
are common in the vast open expanses of central Novasola, especially grassland,
shrubland, wetland, and agriculture-dominated landscapes, as well as rocky lava
fields. Though typically restricted to lowlands, they may occasionally be found
at higher elevation meadows. Bannertails prefer the sorts of habitats that are
created by agricultural practices like fields, meadows, gravel pits, and dirt
roads, and habitats created by major disturbances like post-wildfire and
post-logging clearings and meadows, and have therefore actually seen
significant increases in population since settlement of Novasola, benefitting
first from indigenous fire practices and then Euro-American farming practices.
In fact, it is thought that Bannertails may not have been present in the Twin Rivers
in significant numbers until the 19th century when much of the
region was cleared. While Bannertails are generally nonmigratory, they are
nomadic and move across the landscape in search of food sources. During winter most
Bannertails move to southern Novasola around Fairweather and Charlotte Sounds
and the Francis Islands where the weather is mild enough that insects can still
be found in significant numbers.
Insects
and other invertebrates make up the vast majority of Bannertail diet. They
especially prefer grasshoppers, ants, flies, and mosquitoes. In cold months Bannertails
may supplement their diet with some plant matter. Bannertails mainly forage on
the ground, though they will catch flying insects on the wing in much the same
way as swallows. They are thus both fast and acrobatic fliers and fast runners
on land. Bannertails are crepuscular or nocturnal and mostly forage at dawn and
twilight and even at night, aided by their large eyes.
Bannertails
get their English name from their flashy tail feathers. During the breeding
season Bannertails will court mates by displaying these feathers in elaborate
flights. These ritual flights start low to the ground while the bird gains
speed before flying up and performing a large loop-di-loop and coming back low
to the ground to start the process over again, all the while calling loudly and
spreading their tail feathers like a swallow. Both sexes engage in these
flights, and when a pair come together they will often perform these flights in
sync as a pair. After courting a pair will build a rudimentary nest by digging
a small depression or scratch in the bare ground. Nests are often placed out in
the open in dirt or gravel away from vegetation. Bannertails breed in lose
colonies with nests placed sparsely across a few square kilometers. Both sexes
incubate an average of three eggs. Though their main defense is camouflage, Bannertails
also use their tails to distract or ward of predators. When a predator nears
the nest or chicks, the adults will feign injury and call loudly to get the
predator’s attention, drawing them away. Once the predator has been drawn away
and focuses on the adults, the Bannertails will then spread their tail and
wings out to appear much larger and call rapidly. It’s thought that the large pale
spot on the dark tail feathers act as eyespots, mimicking large eyes and subconsciously
frightening the predator. This intimidation display is often quite successful
in scaring off the intruder. This intimidation display is thought to be the
main reason Bannertail populations have fared better and seen shallower
declines than other ground-nesting birds after the introduction of feral cats
and dogs.
Bannertails,
or aan’kweiyi in the Kuliquit language, are significant to many
indigenous groups on Novasola, especially Yukandaluk and Eastern Tribes. Tail
plumes were collected and used in a number of ceremonial costumes and objects
and often used in arrow fletching. Tribal mythologies often describe the bird
as having stolen the eyes from a bobcat to wear, giving them exceptional
foresight.
Originally
described in 1780 by George York Baker, Bannertails were common in the marshes
west of Cape George and soon began moving into the growing Cape George colony to
exploit the new pastures. By the time of the NRC expeditions Bannertails were
well known, as were their unique tails and threat displays. They were often
hunted for their meat and their tail feathers which made good quills and décor.
They also were hunted during the late 19th and early 20th
centuries for use in the hat industry, though less aggressively than other
birds because they were associated with barnyards and pigsties.
“There
are a number of spectacles this country has to us revealed. The stark vastness
should not be confused for emptiness, for across the expanse I have bore
witness to wonders of multitude. To say nothing of the thunderclouds of pigeons
which darken the skies, there are herds and flocks a plenty. The most recent exhibition
has come every sunset for the past week, when the grasses come alive with Bannertails.
Each evening a grand number of Bannertails have taken to the skies in a raucous
cacophony, green and violet tails flashing in the golden light.” – Expedition log,
May 22, 1902
“Most
exceptional is the bird’s aforementioned tail, adorned with a pair of ostentatious
plumes of dark, oily sheen. Upon each plume is a pale spot, which gives the
entire feature the resemblance of a great eye, in much the same vein as the plumes
of the Indian peafowl. The birds flash these feathers in flight, trailing
behind the body like flags. The Bannertail presents these feathers in acrobatic
mating flights, wherein pairs will circle in large aerial loops and low sweeps
that are a marvel to behold.
…
These banners also aid the creature in warfare. The astute may question how the obvious plumes would benefit the otherwise cryptic ground dweller, but in fact it is that they stand out that is a great asset. Bannertails will purposefully draw the eye of assailants and villains by feigning great injury, much like Kildeer plover, but once the enemy’s attention is fully had, the cunning Bannertail will then turn and face the creature with tail outstretched and wings extended, intending to trick the predator into believing the small plover is in fact a mighty foe.” – Native Birds of Novasola, 1912
 |
| Bannertails hunting for insects above nesting colony. Illustration provided by the Museum of Novasola. |