Queltehue

Description:

The Queltehue is one of the most common birds of the Chilean territory and one of the characteristic inhabitants of the fields and wetlands, you can also find it in cities: in meadows, parks and open gardens. Perfect sentinel day and night, is always very attentive to any danger, immediately throwing a shrill metallic scream that alerts not only others of their species, but the entire environment. Adult: Color of the mantle and gray wings very cryptic, The wings have metallic glitter. Black forehead, throat, neck and chest. Slim white edging that borders the black area on the face to the throat. On the nape of the neck some long, black and fine feathers like a tuft. Corneal spur on the pink wing fold. Pink beak with black tip. Pink legs Iris and periocular red.

Habitat:

0-2,200 meters, Exceptionally up to 3,000 meters. Always associated with bodies of water such as banks of lakes, lagoons, dams, fertile plains, also on the marine coast, on the beaches, but also on agricultural land, wet and dry meadows.

Notes:

Feeding They feed on insects and small vertebrates such as lizards, also raw meat. To hunt they make a small run of two or three steps, they stop and they throw a peck forward. Another technique they use is to stir the earth with their legs so that they can feel the worms underneath it, which they then extract with their beaks. Reproduction Usually they are grouped in flocks, and they are very careful of their chicks. They make their nests on the ground in the open field, which is why they are very sensitive to any noise or strange movement. When alarmed they emit their characteristic, shrill and repeated cry; this sound is almost constant in the rural areas of central and northern Argentina, as well as in the whole Uruguayan territory and the central and southern Chile. He is very clever in taking care of his nest, because in the presence of an intruder he dramatizes the situation by throwing himself as if he were brooding, but in another place, so that the visitor can go towards him. Sometimes it makes short flights away from its nest with the appearance of not being able to fly well, as if it were injured, repeating it several times each time further until the danger passes. Many times it makes low flights over the intruder, even touching it with its exposed spurs. In the case of birds of prey or cats he attacks them until they get away. Sometimes fights between males take place because of the attraction of the female, for which they use the beak and not the spurs. In the flight of attraction the female flies with her head as high as possible and her tail down. The nest is a small hole in a clearing scarcely delimited by twigs and grasses, and they are very difficult to distinguish. They lay their eggs at the end of winter, and the same pair can lay several times during the year. The eggs are incubated for 26 days. The color is greenish gray with small dark spots. Once the chicks are born, father and mother take care of the children. However, in recent years field observations have raised the possibility that some teros develop a polygynous behavior, that is, there is more than one female for each male. Nests with more than four eggs seem to confirm this thesis. However, a third breeding system is much more usual: cooperativism, in the form of the so-called "trios". The trio is a couple plus a third individual that would not necessarily have to be a female, but could even be a male relative. The function that this third party would fulfill could be that of assistant in the vigilance and care of the nest, thus contributing to the survival of the brood through an evidently cooperative behavior. During the laying of eggs and birth of the chicks are very aggressive and vigilant animals. When the night comes, the mother shelters the chicks under her wings. They are taken care of by the parents until they learn to fly, which happens approximately one month after birth.