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Red-whiskered Bulbul
Red-whiskered Bulbuls are evidently quite common around Sydney, but this is the first time I’ve seen one! It’s a pretty little bird, with striking black, red, and white markings and a tall crest on its head like a woodpecker.
In this video, the bird is very far away and I had to do some radical zooming with my camera. You can hear the bulbul’s pretty call:
These birds are native to south Asia, and introduced into Sydney in the late 1800s. They tend to stay in areas close to human habitation.
Here’s a still picture of the bird:
Common name: Red-whiskered Bulbul
Scientific name: Pycnonotus jocosus
Approximate length: 20 cm
Date spotted: 5 June 2022 (winter)
Location: Dobroyd Head, Sydney Harbour, Australia: 33°48’38.6″S 151°16’05.4″E
Those magnificent black cockatoos are back!
For the past couple of years, a group of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos has visited our garden to snack on our Banksia tree when the seeds are ripe. This happens around May-June and again in October. It’s a real privilege to have such magnificent birds in the garden. At approximately 65 cm (more than 2 feet) from head to tail, they’re much larger than the more common white Sulphur-crested Cockatoos (50 cm).
The bird on the left is a female. Toward the end of the video, you see the male higher up in the tree (he’ll be near the top right), keeping watch. You can tell the male by the pinkish colour of the ring surrounding his eye.
The bird on the right at the start of the video (in the middle when all three birds are in view) is making a constant low crooning sound. I think the noisy one must be a juvenile, because I’ve noticed that the juvenile birds of many species keep up a constant noise, perhaps to reassure their parents that they’re still around. Early on in the video, the female on the left calls out in that lovely, wild squeal that’s characteristic of these birds. They also chitter companionably to each other throughout.
Here’s a still picture of the male:
The next video shows one of the birds (probably the female, though it might be the juvenile) tucking into a Banksia seed pod:
It’s funny to see how ruthless the bird is. She basically tears the dead flower apart, chucking bits onto the floor seemingly at random, until she finds a tasty morsel. Our neighbour was giggling from his verandah, from where he had a birds’ eye view of the feasting! Our garden quickly became littered with half-eaten seeds:
The tree is a Banksia serrata, also known as Old Man Banksia. See the marks of that huge beak on these seeds!
Here’s a closeup of a cockatoo on a seed pod:
The scientific name of these birds is Calyptorhynchus funereus. Evidently the funereus part of the name stems from the dark, somewhat gloomy colouring of the birds. George Shaw, the naturalist who first named the birds, thought that the colouring was suited to a funeral! The bird was even called the “funereal cockatoo” for a while.
There’s also some dispute in the birding community about whether these birds are actually part of the genus Calyptorhynchus. Some people group them into a different genus, Zanda, based on genetic diversity.
The next photo shows the bird that I think is a juvenile. With its beak feathers fluffed up, it seems to be sleepy or wanting attention!
A shot from the back gives a nice view of the crest on the bird’s head:
Common name: Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
Scientific name: Calyptorhynchus funereus or Zanda funereus
Length: 58-65 cm
Date spotted: 2nd and 3rd June 2022 (winter)
Location: Allambie Heights, NSW, Australia
The call of the Orange-footed Scrubfowl
In my previous post, I mentioned that many of the birds up in Far North Queensland have different calls from those down in my usual haunts near Sydney. Here’s another example: The Orange-footed Scrubfowl:
This sighting is another first for me. These birds are found in the far north of Australia, on the coastal rainforest edges of the continent. The noise and the way the bird moves remind me of the Velociraptors in Jurassic Park!
Common name: Orange-footed Scrubfowl
Scientific name: Megapodius reinwardt
Approximate length: 40-50 cm
Date spotted: 17 May 2022 (dry season)
Location: Port Douglas, Far North Queensland, Australia: 16°30’42.2″S 145°27’44.2″E
Black Butcherbird in Far North Queensland
A few days ago, I was visiting Port Douglas in Far North Queensland. Many of the birds up there have quite different calls from those further south. This Black Butcherbird is an example:
As you can see, the lighting was difficult. I did manage to get a couple of clearer still shots of the bird:
Black Butcherbirds are, as the name implies, entirely black. In Australia, they’re found only in the far north of the continent. Down near Sydney, where I’m based, I’ve only ever seen the Grey Butcherbird, which has a lot of white and grey as well as black plumage. According to my bird book, some Black Butcherbirds (the rulescens race) can be brownish as juveniles.
This is my first sighting of a Black Butcherbird! Here’s another picture of the same bird in full song:
Common name: Black Butcherbird
Scientific name: Cracticus quoyi
Approximate length: 38-44 cm
Date spotted: 17 May 2022 (autumn)
Location: Port Douglas, Far North Queensland, Australia: 16°30’42.2″S 145°27’44.2″E
Young Kookaburra learning call from adult
The bush is alive with the sound of young Kookaburras practising their call. They sound like rusty saws, or motor engines that can’t quite start. After crooning away to itself for a while, this little one approached an adult for a lesson!
Common name: Laughing Kookaburra
Scientific name: Dacelo novaeguineae
Approximate length: 47 cm
Date spotted: 3 March 2022 (summer)
Location: Manly Dam Park, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’56.3″S 151°15’10.4″E
Dollarbirds courting
It’s that time of year for birds on the south east coast of Australia: breeding season! I heard a cosy chattering sound high in the treetops. My superzoom camera revealed two Dollarbirds getting friendly:
Dollarbirds are migratory. They travel down to the south east coast of Australia for the summer months (roughly September to March) then fly up north to warmer climes for the winter.
They get their name from the white circular markings on the undersides of their wings. The white circles reminded people of the old silver Australian one-dollar coins. You can see the flash of white nicely when the male flies off at the end of the video.
This still photo shows the blue-green colouring of the birds. They have soft brown heads and pretty purple shading under the beak:
Common name: Dollarbird
Scientific name: Eurystomus orientalis
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 29 November 2021 (late spring)
Location: North Harbour Reserve, Balgowlah, NSW: 33°47’59.4″S 151°15’57.8″E
Channel-billed Cuckoo laying egg in Currawong nest
This little episode happened in my garden today. It was interesting and exciting to watch!
A cacophany of Noisy Miners and Currawongs drew me out into the garden to see what was up. High in a gum tree were two Channel-billed Cuckoos, being harassed as usual by the other birds. I only managed to get one of the cuckoos into my camera sights. Luckily, it turned out to be the female bird.
Here’s the Channel-billed Cuckoo on the right, with a little Noisy Miner by its side:
In this short video, you can hear the Noisy Miners peeping incessantly. The cuckoo emits a loud, harsh caw and cedes ground:
Next, the local Currawongs join the attack. The musical, bell-like tones are the Currawongs. The cuckoo flinches and utters its harsh croak. Then I noticed that there’s a Currawong nest just below where the cuckoo is sitting!
Like most cuckoos, Channel-billed Cuckoos are parasitic. They don’t build nests of their own. Instead, they look for a likely host (a Currawong does very nicely, thank you) and lay an egg in the chosen host’s nest. The Currawongs take over all parental duties, looking after the egg along with those of their own, then feeding the baby bird.
Channel-billed Cuckoo chicks don’t turf the other chicks out of the nest (many types of cuckoo chicks do) but they do eat a lot, and grow significantly bigger than the Currawong chicks.
Having decided that the neighbourhood is reasonably quiet and safe for a bit, the cuckoo eyes the nest and starts its approach:
Quick as a flash, it hops up into the nest and lays its egg:
Below is a still picture of the Currawong’s nest. I’ll keep an eye on it, in case I can spot the Currawong and cuckoo chicks when they arrive:
Channel-billed Cuckoo | Scythrops novaehollandiae | Approximate length: 58-65 cm
Noisy Miner, also called Australian Miner | Manorina melanocephala | Approximate length: 26 cm
Pied Currawong | Strepera graculina | Approximate length: 45 cm
Date spotted: 10 October 2021 (spring)
Location: Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia
Magpies carolling with a view of Sydney Harbour
This morning I walked along a path overlooking Sydney Harbour and the headlands that act as a gateway to the ocean. A treeful of Australian Magpies provided musical accompaniment.
Common name: Australian Magpie
Scientific name: Gymnorhina tibicen
Approximate length: 40 cm
Date spotted: 3 October 2021 (spring)
Location: Dobroyd Head, Sydney Harbour: 33°48’36.7″S 151°16’03.4″E
Call of the Grey Shrike-thrush
I’ve heard the lovely, clear calls of this bird a few times, always in the same spot on one of my favourite walks. Now at last I’ve identified the bird. It’s a Grey Shrike-thrush (I’m pretty sure) and this is only the second time I’ve managed to get some pictures of one of these birds.
In this short video, you can see glimpses of the bird and hear its call:
Evidently these birds have a variety of calls. In the next video, the same bird is singing a slightly different tune:
The next video gives a much better view of the thrush in its favourite gum tree, but the bird is taking a break from singing. In the background are the harsh calls of a wattle bird:
The bird is rounder and more fluffy than the drawings in my bird book, but the colouring and the song seem right for a Grey Shrike-thrush. I think the difference arises from the fact that there are different races of this bird in various areas of Australia.
The wing feathers have a lovely olive tinge, blending in nicely with the gum nuts and leaves:
Common name: Grey Shrike-thrush
Scientific name: Colluricincla harmonica
Approximate length: 23 cm.
Date spotted: 16 August 2021 (winter)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’07.4″S 151°14’36.8″E
Eastern Whipbird chirrups to itself
While foraging and exploring the forest floor, this Eastern Whipbird chattered companionably to itself:
It’s likely that the bird’s partner was nearby. I’ve heard whipbirds chirruping and calling to each other on other occasions too. As well as this quiet chirruping, whipbirds make a long, drawn-out whistle ending in a short explosion. That’s the sound that gives the birds their name. You can hear that call in another post of mine.
Common name: Eastern Whipbird
Scientific name: Psophodes olivaceus
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 19 May 2021 (autumn)
Location: Manly Dam Park, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’48.0″S 151°14’53.6″E
