Fewer than 1,000 Bengal floricans remain worldwide, with small, fragmented populations restricted to remnant alluvial grasslands.
About Bengal Florican:
It is a grassland indicator species.
Habitat: It is a bustard mostly found in the seasonally inundated alluvial grasslands of the Gangetic-Brahmaputra plains.
Distribution: It is distributed in Uttar Pradesh, Assam and Arunachal Pradesh in India, in the terai of Nepal and in Bangladesh.
Key strongholds in India are Dudhwa National Park in Uttar Pradesh and several sites across Assam—Manas, Kaziranga, Orang, and Dibru-Saikhowa National Parks.
The male bird shows black plumage, with a crest and elongated display feathers that are raised during courtship, and white wing patches become visible in flight.
It makes vertical leaps, wing movements and vocalisations along with other males, a behaviour known as “lekking”, to establish territories and attract females.
It shows reverse sexual dimorphism and colour dichromatism (male and female are differently coloured).
Diet: They are omnivorous birds. They eat various insects, fruits, seeds, and flowers and also feed on small snakes and lizards.
Threats: Land conversion, expansion of agriculture, annual grassland burning, overgrazing, encroachment, change of river course, invasive plant species and fire mismanagement have altered their habitat.
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