Yes Phil
The thought has occurred to me many times. How do other birds know that the
call of a PO is something they should be frightened of? Nevertheless I've heard
short alarm calls many times in response to PO calls during nocturnal surveys
for forest owls. Miners and other honeyeaters are prone to this behaviour and
on the night the PO visited the corella roost they began a very nervous
murmuring amongst each other. They didn't continue to use the roost after that
night and found another site elsewhere not in the vicinity. I guess they learn
what the call means through experience, perhaps passed on from parents, much
the same way immature birds are initially less wary of humans, but react
nervously in response to observing the behaviour of their parents.
Allan
On 25/02/2011, at 12:04 AM, Philip Veerman wrote:
> Interesting. I don't doubt you but wonder if the corellas were reacting
> to the possible disturbance of the PO attacking one of the corellas, and
> it or its partner raising the alarm. It seems curious that they would
> react to a PO only by its call. Do they know the sound? But that is just
> my ideas.
>
> Philip
>
> -----Original Message-----From:
> On Behalf Of Allan
> Richardson
> Sent: Thursday, 24 February 2011 7:02 PM To: Troy Mutton Cc:
> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] Corellas at
> midnight?
>
>
> We had large numbers of Corellas, both Little and Long-billed, roosting
> next door for a short period. One night there came the chilling (to a
> roosting Corella) call of a Powerful Owl. Have you ever heard the
> reaction of roosting birds to a Powerful Owl call? They give short alarm
> calls that leave you in no doubt that it is a fearful sound to them. I
> suggest that not all Powerful Owls announce their presence by a call and
> an attack would certainly put the flock to the air in the middle of the
> night. An inadvertent fright due to the presence of a possum may also
> send a panic through a flock of high roosting birds perhaps???
>
> Regards
>
> Allan
>
> On 23/02/2011, at 9:32 AM, Troy Mutton wrote:
>
>> Just before 10 pm last night when I shut the library here in
>> Darlington, something/someone disturbed all the Victoria Park Corellas
>
>> and they took off, making a monster racket and circling around, not
>> landing. Could possibly have been the same birds...
>>
>> Cheers
>> Troy
>>
>>
>> --------------
>>
>> Last night around midnight I heard a large flock of Little Corellas
>> fly over Marrickville - anyone encountered this before?
>> Cas
>
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