• Summary
• Text account
• Data table and detailed info
• Distribution map
• Reference and further resources

Taxonomic note
Previously placed in Antigone (del Hoyo & Collar 2014), before which it was included within Grus, as it is once more (Handbook of the Birds of the World & BirdLife International 2021).
N and S populations formerly accorded separate subspecies, with argentea for N birds; subspecific division no longer widely accepted, although the two populations are probably independent. Monotypic.

Taxonomic source(s)
Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International. 2021. Handbook of the Birds of the World and BirdLife International digital checklist of the birds of the world. Version 6. Available at: https://datazone.birdlife.org/userfiles/file/Species/Taxonomy/HBW-BirdLife_Checklist_v6_Dec21.zip.

Red List criteria met

Critically Endangered	Endangered	Vulnerable
-	-	-

Red List history

Year	Category	Criteria
2024	Least Concern
2016	Least Concern
2012	Least Concern
2009	Least Concern
2008	Least Concern
2004	Least Concern
2000	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1994	Lower Risk/Least Concern
1988	Lower Risk/Least Concern

Migratory status	not a migrant	Forest dependency	does not normally occur in forest
Land-mass type		Average mass	-

	Estimate	Data quality
Extent of Occurrence (breeding/resident)	7,360,000 km2	medium
Severely fragmented?	no	-

	Estimate	Data quality	Derivation	Year of estimate
Population size	35000-74000 mature individuals	poor	estimated	2023
Population trend	stable	-	inferred	-
Generation length	15.1 years	-	-	-

Population justification: The total number of individuals has been estimated at between 50,000-100,000 (Veltheim and Sundar 2019). As part of a nationwide waterbird survey a total of 51,969 Brolga were counted, 99.7% of which were in northern Australia (Kingsford et al. 2012). Hence the lower bound of 50,000 is an absolute minimum, and is likely a considerable underestimate as it excludes birds in Papua New Guinea and certainly underestimates the total present in southeastern Australia (Veltheim and Sundar 2019). A total of 907 individuals were counted in southwest Victoria and South Australia in 2012, with up to a hundred more in northern Victoria and additional birds present in New South Wales (Veltheim and Sundar 2019). The upper bound of 100,000 individuals is derived from Meine and Archibald (1996). The New Guinea population is given as 1-10,000 (Wetlands International 2024). Hence the overall number of individuals is revised to 52,000-110,000 individuals.
None of these approximate figures differentiate adults from immatures, hence a rough population estimate, based on the assumption that two-thirds are mature, is 34,840-73,700 mature individuals, rounded to 35,000-74,000 mature individuals.

Trend justification: The overall population trend is considered most likely stable, with the large northern Australian population (comprising up to 99% of the global population) reported as fluctuating (Wetlands International 2024), but with no evidence of range contraction or declines, but the lack of systematic counts precludes a robust trend estimate (Veltheim and Sundar 2019). Declines are suspected to have occurred in New Guinea (T. Nevard in litt. 2024), and birds in Victoria, south eastern Australia are reported to have declined at a rapid rate over the past three generations (Veltheim and Sundar 2019, I. Veltheim in litt. 2024).

Country/Territory	Presence	Origin	Resident	Breeding visitor	Non-breeding visitor	Passage migrant
Australia	extant	native	yes	yes	yes
Indonesia	extant	native	yes
Papua New Guinea	extant	native	yes

Country/Territory	IBA Name
Australia	Alligator Rivers Floodplains
Australia	Arafura Swamp
Australia	Blue Mud Bay
Australia	Cadell and Blyth Floodplains
Australia	Gulf Plains
Australia	Lake Gregory/Paraku
Australia	Mandora Marsh and Anna Plains

Habitat (level 1)	Habitat (level 2)	Importance	Occurrence
Grassland	Subtropical/Tropical Seasonally Wet/Flooded	suitable	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Bogs, Marshes, Swamps, Fens, Peatlands	major	resident
Wetlands (inland)	Permanent Saline, Brackish or Alkaline Lakes	suitable	resident
Altitude	0 - 850 m	Occasional altitudinal limits

Threat (level 1)	Threat (level 2)	Impact and Stresses
Climate change & severe weather	Habitat shifting & alteration	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Future		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Ecosystem degradation
Energy production & mining	Renewable energy	Timing		Scope		Severity		Impact
		Ongoing		Minority (<50%)		Unknown		Unknown
		Stresses Species disturbance, Species mortality

Purpose	Scale
Pets/display animals, horticulture	international

---

Recommended citation
BirdLife International (2024) Species factsheet: Brolga Grus rubicunda. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/factsheet/brolga-grus-rubicunda on 22/11/2024.
Recommended citation for factsheets for more than one species: BirdLife International (2024) IUCN Red List for birds. Downloaded from https://datazone.birdlife.org/species/search on 22/11/2024.