Ian’s Bird of the Week – Letter-winged Kite

April 19, 2013 by Ian

Letter-winged Kite (Elanus scriptus) by Ian 1

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Letter-winged Kite ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter ~ 4/18/13

For all you patient bird of the week recipients, here is I hope a bird worth waiting for, the Letter-winged Kite, star attraction on the recent trip along the Birdsville Track in Northwestern South Australia.

The Letter-winged Kite saga that had its resolution here started in the 1970s when I was living in Surry Hills in inner city Sydney. One evening, I was walking around to the local pub, the Cricketers Arms, on Fitzroy Street a block away from busy South Dowling Street when I found a pair of Letter-winged Kites, unfazed by the traffic, landing in a small tree on the pavement. The L-shaped markings under the wing were clearly visible, so there was no doubt about the identification – I was going to the pub, not tottering home afterwards – no matter how unlikely the location for this species, usually more at home in the semi-desert of Central Australia.

I supposed at the time that they were escaped birds. I found out only later that not only are these Kites nocturnal, but that they spread far and wide in search of food from their usual, arid, home following the population crash that follows plagues of their main prey, the Long-haired Rat. Come to think of it, the rather arid open spaces of Moore Park lie on the other side of South Dowling Street, and I’m sure there are plenty of ordinary rats in Surry Hills.

Letter-winged Kite (Elanus scriptus) by Ian 2

Ordinary people drive the 500km of dirt road that constitutes the legendary Birdsville Track from Birdsville in Southwestern Queensland to Marree in Northeastern South Australia (and the parallel Strzelecki Track) for the experience. Birders do it to search for elusive dry country birds, particularly the Letter-winged Kite and the Grey Falcon and both of these were top of my wanted list on this trip. Letter-winged Kites roost in trees by day, so I searched the few trees – nearly all in creek beds – along the Birdsville Track until, 252km south of Birdsville I spotted a couple of suspects, screeched to a halt in a cloud of dusk and approached them in the car. Birders have 4WD vehicles, such as my modest Suzuki SZ4, mainly so that they can use them as mobile bird hides as most birds are more tolerant of vehicles than pedestrians.

Letter-winged Kite (Elanus scriptus) by Ian 3

Letter-winged Kites indeed they were, but the tree was a tangle of branches and the sun was shining from behind the tree. The birds, however, seemed as unfazed by the traffic (relatively speaking) as the ones in Fitzroy Street, and let me approach to take the first photo (good lighting angle, bad branches), second photo (bad angle, good branches). Then they waited while I changed the lens from the 100-400mm to the 500mm and, eventually, looked on tolerantly while I got out of the car and did a relative close-up (third photo) and a portrait (fourth photo).

Letter-winged Kite (Elanus scriptus) by Ian 4

I then walked away to take a photo of the tree, the birds and a nest (I don’t know whether it was theirs) and turned around to find that they had silently vanished. If it hadn’t been for the photos definitely still on the SD card, the event might have all have been a fantasy. So I made do with a photo of the tree, the nest and the mobile bird hide, below.

Letter-winged Kite (Elanus scriptus) by Ian 5

The Strzelecki Track is actually supposed to be better for Letter-winged Kites than the Birdsville, but, having found these birds, we decided to change our return travel plans from Plan B1 to Plan B2, skip the Strzelecki (similar landscape, worse road), spend a few days in the Flinders Ranges and drive home via Broken Hill, Bourke and Bowra (B2), instead of Birdsville, Bedourie and Boulia (B1).

Best wishes
Ian

**************************************************
Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Tel 0411 602 737 ian@birdway.com.au
Check the latest website updates:
http://www.birdway.com.au/#updates

Lee’s Addition:

And the glede, and the kite, and the vulture after his kind, (Deuteronomy 14:13 KJV)

What an awesome bird. They are beautiful. Thanks, Ian, for sharing another of your birdwatching adventures with us. His photography is fabulous also. I love that close-up in #4. Wow!

The Letter-winged Kite (Elanus scriptus) is a small, rare and irruptive Australian raptor with a core range in central Australia. The adult is a small and graceful, predominantly pale grey and white, raptor with black shoulders and red eyes. It is similar in appearance to the Black-shouldered Kite except for a very distinctive black underwing pattern of a shallow ‘M’ shape, seen when in flight. Roosting during the day in well-foliaged trees and hunting at night, it is the world’s only fully nocturnal raptor. Like all the elanid kites, it is a specialist predator of rodents, which it hunts by hovering in mid-air above grasslands and fields. (Wikipedia)

They belong to the Accipitridae Family . Check out all Ian’s Family Photos and then see the complete Accipitridae – Kites, Hawks and Eagles family list here.

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Strong-billed Honeyeater

March 28, 2013 by Ian

Bird of the Week – Strong-billed Honeyeater ~ Ian Montgomery

Newsletter ~ 3-27-13

Still on the subject of Tasmanian endemics, Tasmania has 4 honeyeater that aren’t found on the mainland. We had the Yellow Wattlebird several weeks ago; the other three comprise the Yellow-throated Honeyeater and two of the seven members of the genus Melithreptus : the Black-headed Honeyeater and this week’s choice the Strong-billed Honeyeater.

Strong-billed Honeyeater (Melithreptus validirostris) by Ian 1

Melithreptus means ‘honey-fed’ and is like Meliphaga a synonym for ‘Honeyeater’ (the Honeyeater family is Meliphagidae) and most members of the Melithreptus genus feed on nectar to varying degrees. The Strong-billed is different, however, and feeds mainly on insects and other invertebrates. It uses its sturdy bill and relatively strong neck and shoulders to strip bark from tree trunks and branches and to probe coarse bark in search of prey. The bird in the first photo is in a very typical pose. Note the strong feet and long claws adapted for clinging to vertical trunks. Interestingly, there are no treecreepers in Tasmania, and the Strong-billed Honeyeater would appear to have adapted to fill the resulting void. With a length of 15-17 cm/6-6.7 in it is the largest member of the genus.

Strong-billed Honeyeater (Melithreptus validirostris) by Ian 2

All the Melithreptus species except the Black-headed have the distinctive white stripe across the back of the head. They all have decorative eye-crescents above the eye and its colour is a field mark for distinguishing the different species, and can be whitish, blue, yellowish or red. You can see that it is whitish in these Strong-billed though it can also be pale blue.

Strong-billed Honeyeater (Melithreptus validirostris) by Ian 3

Tomorrow, I’m off to Southwestern Queensland in search of dry-country birds. So I hope to be able to bring you some interesting examples of these in the coming weeks.

Best wishes
Ian

Lee’s Addition:

And He said to me, Son of man, eat this scroll that I give you and fill your stomach with it. Then I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. (Ezekiel 3:3 AMP)

I like the clean lines on that Honeyeater. Simple, but very becoming. Thanks, Ian, for introducing us to another Tazmanian bird. Not sure whats out in the Southwestern Queensland, but I am sure in the weeks to come, we will find out. Humm! Wonder what he will find?

As Ian said, the Strong-billed Honeyeater is part of the Meliphagidae – Honeyeaters Family. Check out his Meliphagidae Family. He has lots of photos of them.

See his other newsletters about the Honeyeaters:

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Tasmanian Thornbill

March 13, 2013 by Ian

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Tasmanian Thornbill ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter ~ 3/13/13

Are you good at those spot the differences games where you need to find usually ten subtle differences between two drawings? If so, this bird of the week, another in the series of Tasmanian endemics the Tasmanian Thornbill, is for you. The first two photos are of a Tasmanian Thornbill, the third is of its closest relative the Brown Thornbill, which also occurs in Tasmania.

Tasmanian Thornbill (Acanthiza ewingii) by Ian

The differences are as follows. The Tasmanian Thornbill:

has tan rather than brownish-buff forehead
has shorter bill
has darker grey breast
has mottled rather than streaked breast
has buffish rather than whitish edges to flight feathers
has white rather than buff flanks
has longer tail
harsher calls and more disjointed song (otherwise very similar)
prefers denser, wetter habitats (we’re getting desperate here)

Tasmanian Thornbill (Acanthiza ewingii) by Ian

The reward? Another tick on your Australian list.

Brown Thornbill (Acanthiza pusilla) by Ian

Best wishes
Ian

Lee’s Addition:

There are thorns and snares on the path of the crooked; the one who guards himself stays far from them. Teach a youth about the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it. (Proverbs 22:5-6 HCSB)

Oh, now Ian is going to make us “work”! But that is how we learn to ID these birds and the others. Sometimes there is such a subtle difference in some of them. May we never get to the place where we don’t want to be challenged.

Here are the Calls of the Tasmanian and Brown Thornbills

Here are the Songs of the Tasmanian and Brown Thornbills

Thornbills are in the Acanthizidae family. Ian has quite a collection of them on his Thornbills & Allies page. This family, Acanthizidae – Australasian Warblers, has 65 species in it. The Acanthizidae, also known as the Australasian warblers, are a family of passerine birds which include gerygones, thornbills, and scrubwrens. The Acanthizidae consists of small to medium passerine birds, with a total length varying between 3.1 and 7.5 in (8 and 19 centimetres). They have short rounded wings, slender bills, long legs, and a short tail. Most species have olive, grey, or brown plumage, although some have patches of a brighter yellow. The smallest species of acanthizid, and indeed the smallest Australian passerine, is the Weebill, the largest is the Pilotbird.

Links:

Ian’s Birdway

xeno-canto Tasmanian Thornbill

xeno-canto Brown Thornbill

Other Ian’s Bird of the Week

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Green Rosella

February 26, 2013 by Lee

Green Rosella (Platycercus caledonicus) by Ian 1

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Green Rosella ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter ~ 2/26/13

The two recent Tasmanian birds of the week seem to have been popular so here is another one, the Green Rosella. I spent an enjoyable week in a rented campervan in Tasmanian in December 2011 on the way back from the Sub-antarctic trip chasing Tasmanian specialties. After that trip, the Tasmanian species got somewhat eclipsed by the penguins, albatrosses and other seabirds as choices for bird of the week, so I’m making amends now.

Green Rosella (Platycercus caledonicus) by Ian 2

At up to 37cm/14.6in in length, it’s the largest of the Rosellas, being marginally larger on average than its close relative the Crimson Rosella which it replaces in Tasmania and some islands in Bass Strait. Males are generally larger than females and there are subtle between the sexes with males having relatively larger upper mandibles and broader heads (first photo) and females having more orange on the cheeks (second photo) though most of the field guides don’t distinguish between the sexes.

Green Rosella (Platycercus caledonicus) by Ian 3

Juveniles, third photo, are more distinctive with duller more olive plumage and, in flight, pale wing stripes. This bird was in the company of the adult in the second photo, and the one in the first photo was in the same area, so I assumed that they comprised a family.

Green Rosellas are quite common throughout Tasmania, showing a preference for highland forest, though these ones were near the coast on the Tinderbox Peninsula south of Hobart, a good place to search for all the Tasmanian endemics.

“Yellow” Crimson Rosella (Platycercus elegans flaveolus) by Ian 4

The specific name caledonicus was used by the German naturalist Johann Gmelin in 1788, who mistakenly believed that the type specimen had been collected in New Caledonia. Confusion is the name of the game in Rosella terminology, and species boundaries have changed over the years. The Crimson Rosella has two races which differ greatly in plumage and both the ‘Yellow Rosella’ of Southwest NSW and the ‘Adelaide Rosella’ of South Australia have been regarded as separate species in the past. The Yellow Rosella (fourth photo) looks quite like the Green Rosella – and not at all like a Crimson Rosella – but the Green, given its geographical isolation, has been given the benefit of the doubt and retained as a separate species. This is just as well, politically anyway, as it’s the avian symbol of Tasmania and deserves a certain status.

Best wishes
Ian

Lee’s Addition:

I will teach you regarding the hand and handiwork of God; that which is with the Almighty … (Job 27:11a AMP)

The Green Rosella is sometimes referred to as the Tasmanian Rosella, probably as Ian mentioned because it is the Avian Symbol of Tasmanian. The Green and “Yellow” Crimson Rosella are part of the Psittacidae – Parrots Family. What gorgeous birds belong to this family and they show the Handiwork of the Lord at some of it’s finest.

Their diet is composed of seeds, fruit, berries and flowers, as well as insects and insect larvae. The Green Rosella is predominantly herbivorous, consuming seeds, berries, nuts and fruit, as well as flowers, but may also eat insect larvae and insects such as psyllids. They have also partaken of the berries of the common hawthorn, as well as Coprosma and Cyathodes, and even leaf buds of the Common Osier. The seeds of the Silver Wattle (Acacia dealbata) are also eaten.

The breeding season is October to January, with one brood. The nesting site is usually a hollow over 1 m (3 ft) deep in a tree trunk anywhere up to 30 m (100 ft) above the ground. A clutch of four or five white and slightly shiny eggs, measuring 30 x 24 mm, is laid. The nestlings leave the nest around five weeks after hatching and remain with their parents for another month.

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Tasmanian Native-hen

February 14, 2013 by Ian

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Tasmanian Native-hen ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter ~ 2-14-13

The last edition featured the Tasmanian endemic, the Yellow Wattlebird. A former colleague of mine, Gary, who comes from Tasmania, sent me the following recipe from this priceless book by Tasmanian author Marjorie Bligh, and I thought it might interest you, at the risk of putting you off your food.

Tasmanian Nativehen (Tribonyx mortierii) by Ian 1

Marjorie Bligh

Wattle Birds

>“Brush each bird with warm butter after plucking them. (Do not clean birds in any other way; their insides are left intact.) Tie a thin slice of fat bacon over each breast. Put in a fry pan (electric) on a wire grid and cook slowly for 5 to 6 hours. Take off wire grid after 3 to 4 hours and cook in the fat that has dripped off them. Baste often. Serve on buttered toast.”

I Googled Marjorie Bligh and sent this reply to Gary:

Did you know that Marjorie Bligh is the subject of a new book entitled: Housewife Superstar: The Very Best of Marjorie Bligh? She sounds quite a woman.

How’s this for praise:

‘I don’t think Edna has admired anyone as much as she admires Marjorie Bligh’Barry Humphries

Would you like another Tasmanian endemic for next week’s bird?

Gary, not one to resist throwing down the gauntlet, replied: Yes […] would be especially pleased if you could manage the local endemic sub-species of emu.

Emu

This ‘restoration’ by John Keulemans was the best I could do as the request arrived about 160 years too late. So, failing that, here is another flightless Tasmanian endemic, the Tasmanian Native-hen.

Tasmanian Nativehen (Tribonyx mortierii) by Ian

The bird in the photo is an adult with the characteristic slaty-blue breast, chestnut upper-parts and tail. Unlike the Emu, Tasmanian Native-hens remain quite common in eastern and northern Tasmania where there is plenty of suitable grassy habitat. In pre-historic times they also occurred on the mainland but like the Thylacine and the Tasmanian Devil became extinct relatively recently, perhaps as a result of the introduction of dingos.

Tasmanian Nativehen (Tribonyx mortierii) by Ian

They are large – up to 50 cm/20 in in length – flightless members of the family Rallidae (which includes moorhens, coots, rails and crakes). Although they can’t fly, they can swim well and can dive to escape from predators. Like other members of the family, the chicks are black and fluffy and active as soon as they are hatched. The third photo shows a young chick under the watchful eye of an adult, already grazing on the young shoots of grass and herbs that are the staple diet of the species. They also eat seeds, invertebrates and small frogs.

Tasmanian Nativehen (Tribonyx mortierii) by Ian

The bird in the fourth photo is a sub-adult, and has not yet achieved the full colouration of adult birds.

Tasmanian Nativehen (Tribonyx mortierii) by Ian

I’d always assumed that Native-hens got their name from their appearance. The Wattle Bird recipe has set me wondering whether the name had more to do with taste!

Best wishes,

Ian

Lee’s Addition:

Of all clean birds you may eat. (Deuteronomy 14:11 AMP)

I guess we could add this bird to the “clean birds,” but not sure about cooking it with all its innards. The Tasmanian Nativehen is a member of the Rallidae – Rails, Crakes & Coots Family. The only other Nativehen is the Black-tailed one. See all of Ian’s Rallidae Family.

I trust you are enjoying the Newsletters that Ian sends out and lets me post here are the blog. He is quite a photographer and does a lot of traveling to find interesting birds to share. Thank you, Ian.

Check out all the Bird of the Week articles by Ian. He lives down in Australia.

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Yellow Wattlebird

January 31, 2013 by Ian

Yellow Wattlebird (Anthochaera paradoxa) by Ian 1

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Yellow Wattlebird ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter ~ 1/31/13

I was going to use some recent photos of the Little Wattlebird as the bird of the week, but then I found that no Wattlebird has featured as BotW so we may as well start with the most spectacular, the Yellow Wattlebird, endemic to Tasmania where it replaces the Red Wattlebird of southern mainland Australia.

Not only is it the largest of the 4 species of Wattlebird but with a length of 37-45cm/14-18in it is the largest member of the Honeyeater family (Meliphagidae) easily out-classing the largest Friarbird the Helmeted (32-37cm). It also has much longer wattles than it cousin the Red Wattlebird. (Neither the Little nor the closely-related Western Wattlebird have wattles.)

Yellow Wattlebird (Anthochaera paradoxa) by Ian 2

It is reasonably common in its native Tasmania, except along the west coast, and also occurs on King Island in Bass Strait. It feeds mainly on nectar but will also take insects and feed on fruit in orchards. The bird in the third photo is probing under bark for insects or grubs.

Yellow Wattlebird (Anthochaera paradoxa) by Ian 3

All the wattlebirds are very noisy and the Yellow is no exception. Pizzey and Knight describe its call as ‘harsh, gurgling, guttural like coughing/vomiting’ and you can’t get much less flattering than that. Some non-birding friends of mine called Wattlebirds near their holiday cottage ‘Yobbo-birds’ (either Red or Little), which appealed to me and, given that two of the species don’t have wattles, seems to me a much better name. So, herewith the Yellow Yobbobird

Best wishes

Ian
**************************************************
Ian Montgomery, Birdway Pty Ltd,
454 Forestry Road, Bluewater, Qld 4818
Tel 0411 602 737 ian@birdway.com.au
Check the latest website updates:
http://www.birdway.com.au/#updates

Lee’s Addition:

I know all the birds of the mountains, And the wild beasts of the field are Mine. (Psalms 50:11 NKJV)

What an interesting looking bird. I love those wattles hanging down. Wonder if they get in the way or he swings them to attract a mate? When you check out Ian’s Meliphagidae family page you will see that he has really been busy photographing those in that family. He has at least 70 birds listed. Wow! At present there are 184 species and he has 70 of them.

See:

More of Ian’s Bird of the Week Newsletters

Meliphagidae – Honeyeaters – Here

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Channel-billed Cuckoo

January 21, 2013 by Ian

Channel-billed Cuckoo (Scythrops novaehollandiae) by Ian 1

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Channel-billed Cuckoo ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter ~ 1-21-13

Last week, sorry fortnight, we had the Little Bronze-Cuckoo, the smallest Australian Cuckoo. Here is the Channel-billed Cuckoo, the largest parasitic cuckoo in Australia, and the world for that matter, with a length to 65cm/26in and a weight exceeding 900g/2lbs. (Coucals, such as the Pheasant Coucal , to 75cm, are larger and are now included in the Cuckoo family, but are not parasitic.)

The bird in the first photo is an adult, distinguishable by the grey back (no buff patches) and the red eye and facial skin. The genus name Scythrops means ‘angry eye’ in Greek. The second photo shows a juvenile and you can see the buff patches on the wing, head and throat, though the grey facial skin looks as if it is beginning to acquire the red colour of the adult. This photo was taken in April when the birds would about to migrate to New Guinea.

Channel-billed Cuckoo (Scythrops novaehollandiae) by Ian 2

Channel-billed Cuckoos lay their large eggs in the nests of Currawongs, Crows, Ravens, Magpies and even Sparrowhawks. The third photo, which appeared as the bird of the week in 2005, shows a very demanding chick with a very nerve-wracked looking foster parent Pied Currawong in the Sydney Metropolitan Area. The adult Cuckoos may break the eggs of the host bird but the chicks do not usually evict the eggs or chicks. Instead they out-compete them for food.

Channel-billed Cuckoo (Scythrops novaehollandiae) by Ian 3

Channel-bills are mainly migratory, though some are though to remain in the Northern Territory throughout the winter. The juvenile in the fourth photo was being fed by Torresian Crow foster parents in the Top End in early September, so it would have hatched in July.

Channel-billed Cuckoo (Scythrops novaehollandiae) by Ian 4

Typically of Cuckoos, Channel-bills are quite shy and usually remain hidden in foliage but their loud trumpeting calls give them away. They do fly in the open, particular before dusk and look very striking – their long tails and long pointed wings look rather raptor-like, though the large bill doesn’t, and they are often likened to flying crosses.

Best wishes
Ian

Lee’s Addition:

And the owl, and the night hawk, and the cuckoo, and the hawk after his kind, (Deuteronomy 14:15 KJV)

The Cuckoos are in the Cucuilidae Family and are also one of the Birds of the Bible, listed in the Unclean Birds.

See:

Ian’s Cuckoos, Coucals & Allies

Cucuilidae – Cuckoo Family

Birds of the Bible – Cuckoo

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Mistletoebird

December 23, 2012 by Ian

Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) by Ian 1

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Mistletoebird ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter ~ 12/23/12

As an ex-pat, I’ve never really got used to a hot Christmas in Australia. Here we sing carols about open sleighs, holly and ivy and the shops decorate their windows with fake snow, but it all seems a little contrived when the temperature is 31.4ºC/88.5ºF, the average maximum daily temperature for December in Townsville. We do, however, have mistletoe – lots of of growing on Eucalyptus trees – and, even better, Mistletoebirds, so I’ve chosen it as our Christmas bird of the week. It has featured as bird of the week before (August 2003 and June 2004) but originality is not a conspicuous feature of Christmas.

What were you doing under the Mistletoe on Christmas Day 2007? I was photographing the male Mistletoebird in the first photo gorging on a luscious Christmas lunch of Mistletoe berry. They’re tiny birds (9.5-11cm/3.75-4.3in) but have huge appetites, mistletoe berries not being very nutritious but they do the mistletoe a service by depositing rapidly-digested seed-containing excreta on the branches of the host trees. They’ll also eat the fruit of other plants (the fruits in photos 2 and 3 are not mistletoe), nectar and insects.

Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) by Ian 2

The males are striking with their Christmassy red breasts and vents, and blackish-blue iridescent backs and the specific name hirundinaceum means ‘swallow-like’, Hirunda being the generic name for typical swallows. The females (third photo) are a more subtle grey, but have reddish vents.

Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) by Ian 3

Mistletoebirds build exquisite pouch-shaped hanging nests and the fourth photo shows the young take after their parents in continually wanting food. Their nests are similar to those of Sunbirds and they are often placed in the same family Nectarinidae. Mistletoebirds are actually Flowerpeckers (Dicaeum) and are sometimes put in their own family, the Dicaeidae.

Mistletoebird (Dicaeum hirundinaceum) by Ian 4

Being so unChristmassy here, I find that it sneaks up me un-noticed. Last year, all my Christmas cards arrived late, so my New Year Resolution was to not send any more and the money saved is going to the Australian Wildlife Conservancy, which I think has the best record for conservation and reserve management in Australia. So, I wish you an electronic Very Peaceful Christmas and a Lovely New Year. Just remember the Mistletoebird and its appetite when you contemplate the third helping of Christmas pudding tomorrow!

Ian

Lee’s Addition:

How appropriate is Ian’s photos of a neat little bird that loves Mistletoe. Thanks, Ian, and Merry Christmas to you also.

The Mistletoebird belongs to the Dicaeidae – Flowerpeckers Family. Also Ian’s Birdway photos for Dicaeidae, Nectariniidae & Promeropidae.

See more Ian’s Bird of the Week articles

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Green Catbird

December 18, 2012 by Ian

Green Catbird (Ailuroedus crassirostris) by Ian 1

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Green Catbird ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter – 12/18/12

My trip to Sydney produced another bird on my wanted list that I had taken only poor photos of before, the Green Catbird. It’s not rare or, given its calls, hard to find in its favourite habitat of temperate and sub-tropical rainforest, but most birds apart from things like Brush-Turkeys are hard to photograph in rainforest. It’s call is not as one might expect a gentle miaowing but more like a cat being given an injection at the vets or those rude sounds make with balloons and as such, is one of the delights of east coast rainforest.

Australian Catbirds, unrelated to American Catbirds, are members of the Bowerbird family. Unlike their flamboyant cousins, they form pair-bonds and the males help in domestic chores like nest-building. So, eschewing wild mating behaviour, they don’t build wonderful bowers or collect flashy toys. Everything has its price, one supposes, but the call is some compensation. At 24-32cm/10-13in in length, they’re comparable in size to Satin Bowerbirds and, if silent in foliage, can be confused with female or immature members of that species.

Green Catbird (Ailuroedus crassirostris) by Ian 2

The generic name Ailuroedus comes from the Greek ailouros for cat and odos for a singer, which is stretching the definition of singer slightly, but maybe singing embraces yodelling. The range of the Green Catbird extends from the south coast of New South Wales (Narooma) to near Gladstone on the central coast of Queensland. In tropical Queensland it is replaced by the very similar-looking and similar-sounding Spotted Catbird which featured as Bird of the Week in 2006 (below).

Green Catbird (Ailuroedus crassirostris) by Ian 3

The ‘Spotted’ presumably refers to the stronger markings on the breast as the Green Catbird has more obvious white spots on the back (second photo) but the main difference is the darker markings on the face of the Spotted Catbird. As their ranges don’t overlap, distinguishing between them isn’t an issue. The Spotted Catbird extends from Paluma Range National Park, near Bluewater where I live to Cooktown and there is a separate population, recognised as a different race with darker face markings, on Cape York (e.g. Iron Range). In the past, both Green and Spotted were treated as a single species and some of the splitters would like to make the Cape York race a full species, another tick I suppose. There are other races of the Spotted in New Guinea and another species, the White-eared Catbird, A. buccoides.

Best wishes
Ian

Lee’s Addition:

The Green Catbird is part of the Ptilonorhynchidae – Bowerbirds Family which has three Catbirds, the White-eared Catbird (Ailuroedus buccoides), Green Catbird (Ailuroedus crassirostris) and the Spotted Catbird (Ailuroedus melanotis). Ian has the family as Australian Catbirds & Bowerbirds.

Dan and I were able to see a White-eared Catbird (Ailuroedus buccoides) this year at the Zoo Miami. Most of the time when I think of a Grey Catbird (Dumetella carolinensis), it is ours which is in a completely different family. (Mimidae – Mockingbirds, Thrashers) The Black Catbird (Melanoptila glabrirostris) is also part of that family. The 6th Catbird, Abyssinian Catbird (Parophasma galinieri) is in yet another family (Sylviidae – Sylviid Babblers).

See more of Ian’s Bird of the Week adventures.

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Powerful Owl

December 9, 2012 by Lee

Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua) by Ian 1

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Powerful Owl ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter – 12/9/2012

My apologies again for a tardy bird of the week, so here is something special. Well, special for me, anyway, as it has been a serious bogey bird for me. All addicted birders and bird photographers have their bogeys, in the sense of ‘an evil or mischievous spirit, a cause of annoyance or harassment’ usually a species that is invisible to the victim or hides whenever the victim is around.

Powerful Owls first cast an evil spell on me on 11 February 1999 when one in Pennant Hills Park made my film camera malfunction so that the entire film was hopelessly underexposed – you can see the wicked gleam in its eye below. As soon as I picked up the film from the chemist the following day, I went back to Pennant Hills Park but the owl was no longer there or no longer visible.

Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua) by Ian 2

Shortly after that I moved from Sydney and switched to digital photography (nowadays we take instant photographic feedback for granted). Since then, whenever I’ve visited Sydney I’ve looked for Powerful Owls in all their usual haunts – Pennant Hills Park, Mitchell Park, Beecroft, Warriewood, Royal Botanic Gardens, Royal National Park, etc. – without success.

Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua) by Ian 3

Last Tuesday I gave a talk on parrots to Birding NSW in Sydney and inquired about POs. Yes, one had been seen in its favourite tree, the White Fig, near the entrance to Government House the previous Saturday. I went there on Wednesday and searched the tree for at least 20 minutes but the owl remained invisible until I decided to leave. Delighted with its success, it let its guard down, the spell weakened and I got the briefest visual sensation, like a shimmering mirage, of a barred tail. Powerful Owls are big 60-65cm/24-26in in length, it was then quite visible from the ground and not very high up, so a spell is the only explanation.

Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua) by Ian 4

The next day, I went birding with Madeleine Murray and we abandoned plans to look for the owl (they’re quite visible to her) and went instead to Port Hacking, south of Sydney, where, lo and behold, we found another one, or to be more accurate Mad found it after I’d walked straight past it as the spell hadn’t entirely dissipated – it normally does so quite quickly after it has been broken once.

Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua) by Ian 5

The Powerful Owl is the largest of the Hawk Owls (genus Ninox) and exceeded in size only by the world’s largest owls such as the Grey Grey and the larger Eagle Owls. It is found in eastern and southeastern Australia usually within 200km of the coast from central Queensland to eastern South Australia. It has large territories ranging in size from 3-15 square kilometres so it is nowhere common and is listed as Vulnerable. However, it seems to be quite tolerant of selective logging and can survive in patchy forests. It feeds mainly on arboreal mammals such as possums, but will also take flying foxes (fruit bats) and roosting birds.

Best wishes
Ian

Glad you sent us a Bird of the Week, Ian. I was starting to worry about you, that maybe you were sick or something. The wait was worth it because this is a beautiful Owl. I am glad you are no longer under this bird’s “evil spell on” you.

The Powerful Owl is part of the Strigidae – Owl Family. To see more photos of them, check out Ian’s photos and our Family page here:

Typical or Hawk Owls – Ian’s Birdway

Strigidae – Owl Family

Ian’s Bird of the Week – (Southern Cassowary) and Solar Eclipse

November 14, 2012 by Ian

Southern Cassowary and Solar Eclipse by Ian 1

Ian’s Bird of the Week – (Southern Cassowary) and Solar Eclipse

by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter 11-14-12

It’s unusual for my primary photographic goal on a trip to be other than a bird, but birds this week in northern Queensland have been overshadowed – pun intended – by yesterday’s solar eclipse. Residents of the Townsville district had to face the difficult decision on whether to remain here where the probability of clear skies was great but be satisfied with a 96% eclipse or travel to Cairns where the weather forecast was cloudy but the eclipse was total.

Despite misgivings about the weather, we went to Cairns and in the end it was a close call. We awoke at 5:30am – totality was due at 6:38 – to an unpromising looking sunrise followed by a shower of rain and then headed off to the beach, equipped with solar spectacles and umbrellas. Just before totality, a cloud obscured the sun and the first photo was taken seconds before it was due, at 6:37’37”, according to my iPhone. The suspense was riveting until the cloud moved aside like a slow theatre curtain to reveal a total eclipse in all its glory and all the onlookers cheered. The second photo was taken, not with the iPhone, exactly 40 seconds later.

Southern Cassowary and Solar Eclipse by Ian 2

As well as the corona surrounding the sun, only ever visible from earth during total eclipse, you can see several solar flares between 9 and 10 o’clock and near 12 o’clock. The third photo was taken another 7 seconds later, at 8:38’24”, and the sun is already reappearing producing the ‘diamond ring’ effect. This happens when a relatively tiny portion of the sun – a Baily’s bead – is visible through an irregularity on the surface of the moon – a mountain valley or a crater.

Southern Cassowary and Solar Eclipse by Ian 3

For the photographically-minded, I was unsure what exposure to use and whether automatic exposure would be correct, so I used ‘bracketing’, taking 3 photos with exposures ranging from 1 stop below to 1 above the set exposure and adjusting the set exposure based on the results of the first photos. I got the best results at -2.7 stops, f5.6 at 1/100 and 1/125sec at ISO 100. I used a tripod.

On the way to Cairns we spent a night at Etty Bay on the ‘Cassowary Coast’, the name of the local government region that covers Mission Beach and Innisfail. Etty Bay is, I think, the best place to see Cassowaries, as at least one regular patrols the camping and picnic area looking for scraps of food. The Cassowary Coast has the following logo, and I wanted to take a photo of a Cassowary that emulated the sign (which emulates a Cassowary).

Southern Cassowary and Solar Eclipse by Ian 4

Cassowaries don’t normally frequent beaches, but this one has clearly found that it’s worth checking for scraps.

Southern Cassowary and Solar Eclipse by Ian 5

The one in the second photo might make a good poster for a qualified welcome to the Cassowary Coast!

Southern Cassowary and Solar Eclipse by Ian 6

The Southern Cassowary featured as bird of the week in 2006. Here is one of the photos that I used then, also taken at Etty Bay, for those of you who have joined the list since then.

Southern Cassowary and Solar Eclipse by Ian 7

Best wishes
Ian

Lee’s Addition:

What great photos of the eclipse and the Cassowary to add to the delight. Thanks, Ian.

That second photo is a perfect catch of the Solar Eclipse. Wow!

He appointed the moon for seasons; The sun knows its going down. (Psalms 104:19 NKJV)

See:

Ian’s Southern Cassowary page for more of his great photos.

Casuariidae – Cassowaries Family

Cassowary – Wikipedia

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Common Redshank

November 1, 2012 by Lee

Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) by Ian 1

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Common Redshank ~ by Ian Montgomery

Newsletter – 11-1-12

Here’s one for the wader enthusiasts: the Common Redshank, well ‘common’ in Eurasia and rather rare in Australia. It occurred to me when I was photographing these birds in Ireland in September, that, for birders, the appeal of a particular species is very dependent on location. Common Redshanks are noteworthy in Australia (I remember looking quite hard before finding one in Broome) but perhaps a nuisance in Ireland because they’re ubiquitous, nervous and noisy and often put more unusual waders to flight when you least want them to.

The one in the first photo is foraging at low tide in the harbour at Carlingford Lough, an attractive bay between the Republic and Northern Ireland on the east coast and overlooked on the northern side by the Mourne Mountains. The two in the second photo are feeding in the mudflats in the estuary of the River Boyne some distance downstream from where the famous Battle of the Boyne took place in 1690. The bird on the right has just taken a tiny crab.

Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) by Ian 2

The birds in the first two photos are in non-breeding plumage. Some wader species undergo spectacular colour changes when breeding, but in the Common Redshank the markings just become more pronounced, as in the third photo, taken in Portugal in the month of June some years ago.

Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) by Ian 3

The bright red legs, or shanks, make this a relatively easy wader to identify. It’s ringing call is also distinctive and it shows a characteristic wing pattern in flight with white panels on the rear edge of the wing, as in the fourth photo, quite different from the wing bar or plain wing of most waders.

Common Redshank (Tringa totanus) by Ian 4

The generic name Tringa is from the ancient Greek trungas ‘a thrush-sized bird mentioned by Aristotle, not further identified, but taken by later authors to be a sandpiper, a wagtail or a dipper‘. That’s equivalent to saying that this fruit is either an orange, a pineapple or a banana. And totanus comes from the Italian name totano for a Redshank. Sometimes the derivation of scientific names is informative, sometimes less so.

Best wishes
Ian

Lee’s Addition:

The birds of the air, And the fish of the sea That pass through the paths of the seas. (Psalms 8:8 NKJV)

What a neat little bird. I especially like the 3rd photo showing the red, hence, Redshank. Thanks again, Ian.

Redshanks do belong to the Scolopacidae – Sandpipers, Snipes Family. See his Scolopacidae family photos also.

Common Redshanks in breeding plumage are a marbled brown color, slightly lighter below. In winter plumage they become somewhat lighter-toned and less patterned, being rather plain greyish-brown above and whitish below. They have red legs and a black-tipped red bill, and show white up the back and on the wings in flight.

(Sound from xeno-canto.org)

Lee's Birdwatching Adventures Plus

Birdwatching from a Christian Perspective

Tag Archives: Ian Montgomery

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Letter-winged Kite

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Strong-billed Honeyeater

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Tasmanian Thornbill

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Green Rosella

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Tasmanian Native-hen

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Yellow Wattlebird

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Channel-billed Cuckoo

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Mistletoebird

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Green Catbird

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Powerful Owl

Ian’s Bird of the Week – (Southern Cassowary) and Solar Eclipse

Ian’s Bird of the Week – Common Redshank

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