---
title: "Brolga"
description: "Antigone rubicunda — Birds. The brolga (Antigone rubicunda), formerly known as the native companion, is a bird in the crane family."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/brolga
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Brolga

> Antigone rubicunda — Birds. The brolga (Antigone rubicunda), formerly known as the native companion, is a bird in the crane family.

- Scientific name: *Antigone rubicunda*
- Category: `birds` (Birds)
- Habitats: `freshwater` (Lakes & rivers)
- iNaturalist observations: 3776
- Wikidata: [Q28114148](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q28114148)
- iNaturalist taxon: [508055](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/508055)

## Names

- en: Brolga
- de: Brolgakranich
- es: Grulla Australiana
- fr: Grue brolga

## Countries with the most observations

AU (3541)

## Summary

The brolga (Antigone rubicunda), formerly known as the native companion, is a bird in the crane family. It has also been given the name Australian crane, a term coined in 1865 by well-known ornithologist John Gould in his Birds of Australia.
The brolga is a common, gregarious wetland bird species of tropical and south-eastern Australia and New Guinea. It is a tall, upright bird with a small head, long beak, slender neck, and long legs. Its plumage is mainly grey, with black wing tips, and it has an orange-red band on its head. The brolga's courting dance is similar to that of other cranes. The nest is built of wetland…

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brolga

## Photo

![Brolga](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/brolga/medium.jpg)

Photo: Norm Herr · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/195936465

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/brolga?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).