Ajay Kumar: Created a new article

2023-08-30T20:25:22Z

Created a new article

New page

{{short description|Family of birds}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| image = African Finfoot, male breeding.jpg
| image_caption = [[African finfoot]] (adult male)
| taxon = Heliornithidae
| authority = [[George Robert Gray|GR Gray]], 1840
| subdivision_ranks = Genera and species
| subdivision =
* African finfoot ''[[Podica senegalensis]]''
* Masked finfoot ''[[Heliopais personatus]]''
* Sungrebe ''[[Heliornis fulica]]''
}}

The '''Heliornithidae ''' are a small [[family (biology)|family]] of tropical [[bird]]s with webbed lobes on their feet like those of [[grebe]]s and [[coot]]s. The family overall are known as '''finfoots''', although one [[species]] is known as a [[sungrebe]]. The family is composed of three species in three [[genus|genera]].

==Description==
Finfoots resemble [[rail (bird)|rail]]s; they have long necks, slender bodies, broad tails, and sharp, pointed bills. They have a diverse range of [[bird song|calls]], but do not call frequently. Their legs and feet are brightly coloured and, unlike grebes, they are capable of walking well and even moving quickly on land.<ref name=EoB>{{cite book |editor=Forshaw, Joseph|author= Archibald, George W.|year=1991|title=Encyclopaedia of Animals: Birds|publisher= Merehurst Press|location=London|pages= 99–100|isbn= 1-85391-186-0}}</ref>

==Habitat==
Finfoots are found in numerous habitats in the tropics as long as there is water and cover. It is uncertain why cover is so essential to finfoots, but they are extremely secretive and often overlooked. Their ranges extend from coastal creeks to fast-moving mountain streams, most commonly being found in large slow-moving bodies of water. They also use swamps, reed beds, [[mangrove]]s, and forest. Finfoots are territorial, probably for much of the year and certainly when breeding. They are not thought to undertake regular [[bird migration|migrations]], but some birds do regularly disperse and they are quick to colonise new areas of suitable habitat.

==Behaviour==

===Diet and feeding===
Finfoots feed on a wide range of foods, [[insect]]s of various sorts being the most frequently observed component of their diet. Little quantitative information on finfoot diet exists, but they have also been recorded eating [[mollusc]]s, [[crustacean]]s, spiders, [[frog]]s, [[fish]] and some leaves and seeds. Unlike grebes they do not dive to obtain food, instead picking prey off the water's surface or foraging on the shore.

===Breeding===
All three species tend to breed after the [[wet season]], the exact timing of which is dependent on the local climate. The breeding behaviour of the masked finfoot is almost entirely unknown. All three species exhibit some changes in appearance prior to breeding – masked finfoots develop a fleshy knob above the bill, and the [[plumage]] of the male African finfoot and female sungrebe also change. There is considerable variation within the finfoots on several aspects of breeding; in the Sungrebe the nest building and [[avian incubation|incubation]] duties are shared between the sexes, in the African finfoot the female alone incubates. The nests of all finfoots are untidy bowls of sticks, twigs, and reeds suspended in vegetation above water.<ref name=EoB/>

==Species==
There are three species. The [[African finfoot]] is found in tropical [[Africa]] on streams in woodland. The [[masked finfoot]] has a scattered distribution from Eastern India down through southeast [[Asia]] to the [[Wallace Line]]. The [[sungrebe]] is found in tropical Central and South America. Finfoots are highly secretive and many aspects of their biology are unknown to science.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:African finfoot.jpeg|[[African finfoot]], ''Podica senegalensis''
File:Sungrebe.jpg|[[Sungrebe]], ''Heliornis fulica''
File:Masked Finfoot.JPG|[[Masked finfoot]], ''Heliopais personata''
</gallery>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

* Bertrand, B. C. R. (1996). "Family Heliornithidae (Finfoots)" in del Hoyo, J., Elliott, A., & Sargatal, J., eds. ''Handbook of the Birds of the World. Vol. 3.'' Lynx Edicions, Barcelona, {{ISBN|84-87334-20-2}}

==External links==
*[http://ibc.lynxeds.com/family/finfoots-heliornithidae Heliornithidae videos] on the Internet Bird Collection

*{{Commons category-inline|Heliornithidae}}
*{{Wikispecies-inline|Heliornithidae}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q661898}}

[[Category:Heliornithidae| ]]
[[Category:Bird families]]
[[Category:Taxa named by George Robert Gray]]

Heliornithidae - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article