Kagu - Kagu (English spelling) kagu

A bird of the order Grui and family Rhynochetidae. This family Rhynochetidae consists of only one species, the kagu. It is about 56 cm long. Its back is slate gray, with a tufted crest on the back of its head and a light gray belly. Its wings have black, white and chestnut stripes that are only noticeable when it spreads its wings and displays them. Its beak and legs are orange-red. It is a native of New Caledonia, living in the deep forests of the island. The name kagu comes from the name given by the natives (who named it after the sound of the bird). Although it has large, broad wings, it rarely flies, living mainly on the ground and being active at night. Its loud sound can be heard from far away, but very few people have seen it in the wild. Its food is mainly insects and small animals, earthworms, and other things found on land and in the soil, and it is said to particularly like the snails of the genus Placostylus . Although the bird's breeding in the wild is not yet known, in captivity, it builds a nest on the ground from twigs and leaves and lays a single cream-colored egg with gray and brown spots. The male and female take turns incubating the eggs and raising the chicks. This bird was once so abundant that it was eaten, but its population has rapidly decreased due to deforestation and the introduction of natural enemies such as dogs and cats, and it is now designated as an internationally protected bird that is at risk of extinction.

[Hiroyuki Morioka]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

鳥綱ツル目カグー科の鳥。この科Rhynochetidaeはカグー1種だけからなる。全長約56センチメートル。背面はスレート灰色で、後頭に房状の冠羽があり、腹は薄い灰色である。翼には黒、白、栗(くり)色の横帯があるが、この横帯は、翼を広げてディスプレーするときだけ目だつ。嘴(くちばし)と足は橙赤(とうせき)色。ニューカレドニア島の特産で、島の奥地の深い森林にすむ。カグーの名は、原住民の呼び名（彼らはこの鳥の声から名づけた）に由来する。幅広い大きな翼があるが、飛ぶことはほとんどなく、もっぱら地上で生活し、夜間活動する。その大きな声は遠くまで聞こえるが、野生のものの姿を見た人は非常に少ない。食物は主として地上と土中の昆虫類、小動物、ミミズなどで、プラコスティルス属Placostylusの巻き貝をとくに好むといわれる。野生の鳥の繁殖はまだわかっていないが、飼育下では地上に小枝と葉を集めて巣をつくり、灰色と褐色の斑(ふ)のあるクリーム色の卵を1個産む。抱卵と育雛(いくすう)は雌雄交代で行う。この鳥は、かつては食用にされるほど多くいたが、森林の伐採とイヌやネコなどの天敵の移入で急激に減少し、現在では絶滅のおそれのある鳥の一つとして、国際保護鳥に指定されている。

［森岡弘之］

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