The Macquarie Dictionary, first edition, 1981:
rank: 1. growing with excessive luxuriance; vigorous and tall growth:
"tall rank grass".
(The Dictionary put "tall rank grass" in italics as an example of a use of
the word. I can't use italics for b-aus.)
Hope that helps.
Sud
> From: Peter Shute <>
> Date: Tue, 3 Feb 2009 18:20:16 +1100
> To: bob moffatt <>, 'birding aus'
> <>, Andrew Thelander <>
> Cc: Stephen Debus <>
> Subject: [Birding-Aus] Rank grass?
>
> The mention of rank grass below reminded me that I've been wondering exactly
> what this term means. I've seen it mentioned in the field guides as habitat
> for some species, but haven't been able to find a proper definition for it,
> other than that certain species are considered to be rank grasses.
>
> Peter Shute
>
> ________________________________________
> From: On
> Behalf Of bob moffatt
> Sent: Tuesday, 3 February 2009 1:18 PM
> To: 'birding aus'; Andrew Thelander
> Cc: Stephen Debus
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Water Hen Goes Nutty!
>
> I have been monitoring this nest - they are Purple Swamphens, they (both a
> male and female) commenced incubating nuts pre 8th Jan and are still
> sitting!! I have more photos and considering writing a short note for
> publication, the nest is certainly not the typical Swamphen nest of reed
> stem sections but rather a bowl in somewhat rank grass - that has since been
> mowed (slasher raised to avoid slashing nest!). I suspect they may have
> lost a clutch of eggs(??) and the nuts are substitutes (?). I dont know
> whether they gathered the nuts or whether the nuts may have accumulated in a
> depression which may then have enticed them to incubate(?).
>
> There is a recent report of Black swans incubation glass bottles (see Aus
> Field Ornithology Vol.23 No1. March 2006).
>
> Bob Moffatt
> There was an article in a recent
|
