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Birds in the News #80

No Comments »3rd May, 2007; Category: Birds in the News, Non-Australian birds

The latest edition of Birds in the News # 80 has been posted here.

Articles in this issue include:

  • A stunning photograph of a displaying Greater Prairie-Chicken with a link to many more photos of this species.
  • News of a new species of Frogmouth from the Solomon Islands.
  • Birds hurting people – details of an aggressive Red-Shouldered Hawk that has caused lacerations on a number of people it attacked in Miami.
  • People hurting birds – road deaths in Florida.
  • Birds helping people – a story about a parrot that helped an autistic child to talk.
  • And many more articles and links.

Link:

Rainbow Lorikeet

Rainbow Lorikeet

Click on the photo to enlarge the image.

View more bird photos – and photos on many more subjects – on my photo gallery here.

Close views of Musk Lorikeets

2 Comments »2nd May, 2007; Category: Parrots and Lorikeets
Musk Lorikeet

Musk Lorikeet

A few days ago we travelled from home in Murray Bridge down to the south coast of South Australia. My wife wanted to attend the native plant sale in Victor Harbor. This was one plant sale we had never attended. After talking to the various people there that I knew I went out to the car to wait for my wife to finish talking and buying.

While sitting in the car my attention was attracted to the many Musk Lorikeets feeding on the flowers of the street trees. These trees were mainly bottlebrushes (Callistemon spp) in full flower. It was a delight to get so close to these beautiful little birds.

Musk Lorikeet

Musk Lorikeet

Distribution:

Musk Lorikeets are found in many parts of south-eastern Australia. They are found along coastal NSW and inland to the western slopes and plains, throughout much of Victoria, parts of Tasmania and southern South Australia. They are slightly larger than the well-known Budgerigar but with a shorter tail.

Habitat:

Musk Lorikeets prefer eucalypt woodlands and dry forests, roadside vegetation and timbered watercourses. They are also happy to raid orchards and are becoming common in parks and gardens were suitable flowering trees and bushes are present. Those that I saw in the street trees in Victor Harbor must have numbered in the dozens; their constant “zzitt-zzitt” calls as they fed was quite noisy.

Related articles:

POSTSCRIPT: This is the 500th posting on this blog. If you liked this article, why not visit some of the many other articles I have written? You can click on the Contents section on the side bar or you can choose a category that interests you lower down on the side bar. These will take you to listings of articles from the archives. Choosing the Archives in the Contents will give you a complete listing of all articles. Many of the articles have photos I have taken of birds.

This article was updated on 1st March 2017.

Birds in the News #79

No Comments »1st May, 2007; Category: Birds in the News, Non-Australian birds

This post is a little late – I’ve been busy on other matters.

The 79th edition of Birds in the News can be found here.

This edition features many interesting articles and links, including:

  • A wonderful photo of an egret in an unusual pose.
  • An article about the mating of Prairie Chickens.
  • Gentoo and Rockhopper Penguins.
  • A link to a video showing an amazing parrot that is able to do all kinds of tricks, including play golf and basketball.
  • And much more.

Link:

  • Birds in the News # 79

Grey Fantail visits our garden

No Comments »30th April, 2007; Category: Flycatchers, Garden birds

The Grey Fantail is one of Australia’s better known birds. Along with its cousin, the Willie Wagtail, it is a member of the flycatcher family of Australian birds. Like the Willie Wagtail, the Grey Fantail is an endearing bird, often coming quite close to people while they visit parks and gardens, or even in house gardens in suburban areas.

Grey Fantail

Grey Fantail

I love having this cheeky and inquisitive bird nearby, and its beautiful, lilting flute-like ascending call is one of my favourite bird calls in the Australian environment. Unfortunately we only have occasional visits from this species in our garden. One visited us a few days ago, perching on a dead branch near where I was working. It had a close up look at me before flying off again. I didn’t have my camera with me; one day I’ll get a better shot than the one above.

Grey Fantails are found throughout Australia except for the very dry parts. Its preferred habitats include open forests and scrublands, orchards, golf courses, parks and gardens and along watercourses. It breeds in the latter half of the year. Its nest is a delicate, cup shaped bowl with a tail like a wineglass without a base. The nest usually consists of fine grass, spider web, bark strips or plant fibre. They usually lay 2 to 3 eggs, sometimes four.

Willie Wagtail

Willie Wagtail

Birds in the News #78

No Comments »29th April, 2007; Category: Birds in the News, Non-Australian birds

I am a little late in posting this.

Issue #78 of Birds in the News can be found here.

It features:

  • A wonderful photo of three Rhinoceros Hornbills
  • News of many Common Murres and other birds washed ashore on the beaches of California, Oregon and Washington.
  • A campaign to conserve Columbia’s wax palms and the Yellow-Eared Parrots.
  • The success of the captive Kiwi breeding programme at Auckland Zoo.
  • Australian twitchers descending upon Darwin to tick a rare occurance of a Javan Pond Heron.
  • A Bar-Tailed Godwit has been tracked by satellite – and set a new long-distance non-stop flight record of 10,200 km.
  • And much more.

Link:

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