There are certainly some very interesting questions in relation to CBC's yet to
be answered. Some very interesting observations in there.
On 07/12/2011, at 9:21 AM, Judith Hoyle wrote:
> Hi All,
>
> An interesting thread. Over the prevoius two summers (but not this one, for
> some reason) we had a pair of CBCs that appeared to maintain a territory in
> our street. Whilst they were particularly active/vocal in the early morning
> and evening we heard them at odd intervals throughout each day.
>
> I find Allan's observations of multple birds roosting together particularly
> interesting. Early on in their stay, our CBCs had the expected interactions
> with the local Torresian Crows to get the female into the nest. However,
> they were here for at least a couple of months after that, keeping up with
> their aerial calling throughout that time. As we live in an area without an
> obvious source of fruiting trees, it got me thinking: were they maintaining a
> territory around their nesting sites with the aim of 'picking up' their young
> once they had fledged??
>
> Regards
>
> Judith
>
>> From:
>> To:
>> Date: Wed, 7 Dec 2011 08:00:17 +1100
>> CC:
>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] What is the function of Channel-billed Cuckoo's
>> calling flights?
>>
>> I like Allan's hypothesis of CBCs calling or creating a commotion while in a
>> forest or woodland as a diversionary tactic to allow a female to sneak in
>> and parasitise a nest. This certainly makes sense to me.
>>
>> Stephen Ambrose
>> Ryde NSW
>>
>>
>> -----Original Message-----
>> From:
>> On Behalf Of Allan
>> Richardson
>> Sent: Tuesday, 6 December 2011 7:59 PM
>> To: Laurie Knight
>> Cc: Birding Aus
>> Subject: Re: [Birding-Aus] What is the function of Channel-billed Cuckoo's
>> calling flights?
>>
>> I've not noted large aggregations of C-bCu's in the day but we did flush
>> around 12 roosting together, while conducting nocturnal surveys out near
>> Gunnedah NSW. It was late in the evening, the tree was an isolated
>> individual surrounded by grassland and there were no fruiting trees nearby
>> to my knowledge. The birds were clearly roosting together not in response to
>> a food source, which made the observation very interesting to me. The time
>> of year was late January (2011), which suggested a post-breeding group
>> likely made up of many young birds and perhaps a few adults, unfortunately
>> there was no way to tell, they disappeared into the dark very quickly. I
>> guess we have no way of knowing how many C-bCu eegs are deposited in the
>> nests of other birds throughout the breeding season, could it be possible
>> that the the 12 were a pair and their reunited progeny for that year and/or
>> previous years?? There have been rumours, but have we established whether
>> post-breeding groups are related i
>> n any way? if so, is it intentional or just likely due to the birds living
>> and then departing from the same general area???
>>
>> I have watched C-bCu's luring Currawongs out of the nest, presumably to
>> allow the female an opportunity to parasitise the brood. The birds fly high
>> around a stand of trees where the Currawongs are nesting, calling loudly,
>> and the Currawongs just cannot resist to try and chase them off. Perhaps the
>> indiscriminate calling we hear by individuals or pairs is an endeavour to
>> draw other birds out to alert the C-bCu's of occupied breeding
>> territories???
>>
>> Other than that I think we might be able to assume that C-bCu's call for
>> some of the same reasons other birds call. We assume they don't establish
>> territories, but most birds defend breeding territories or food sources
>> within defined territorial bounds and it's likely that C-bCu's are carrying
>> out similar breeding season behaviour, albeit not tied to a personal nest
>> site (unless they view the nests of their surrogates as a resource worth
>> defending). Territory posturing may then explain the calling aggregations.
>> Other cuckoos appear to call as territorial proclamations: Koels are very
>> competitive, Fantailed, Horsefield's Bronze, Shining Bronze, Brush and
>> Pallid are very vocal and I recently noticed many a brawl amongst competing
>> Pallids in the Goulburn area (NSW sthn tablelands) this spring, induced and
>> fueled by calling individuals.
>>
>> Certainly cuckoos are one of the easiest groups to attract by call, a
>> suitable whistle to Shining Bronze is the easiest way to get a closer view.
>>
>> Allan Richardson
>> Morisset NSW
>>
>>
>>
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