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At 1:00 pm on 6 September, between the rear of Woolworths supermarket,
Kippax and the Holt playing fields, I noticed a currawong pulling loose
bark from a eucalyptus tree as it perched in a fork of the trunk a metre
above the ground. Judging by the behaviour I thought it might be a Grey
Currawong and investigated. But my curiosity went unrewarded. Rather,
it was piqued.
The bird's head and neck were black like a Pied Currawong and stood out
from the rest of the plumage which appeared to be dark grey. The chest and belly
were splotched with dull white as was the mantle and scapular areas.
Also, I didn't notice any white on the undertail coverts or tip of tail
which would have been the case in either normal-plumaged species, I think.
As I closed to within three metres it moved to an adjacent tree and I
saw it was carrying a couple of pieces of bark (c.8 cm long) which may indicate
it was nest-building nearby. If so, it mightn't be hard to track down. I
regained a reasonable view a few seconds later but it seemed wary and moved
higher in the tree before giving me the slip.
I initially thought Grey/Pied Currawong hybrid, but a quick perusal of
HANZAB didn't reveal any mention of such a cross, and Chris Davey has pointed
out the possibility it may be a leucismic (if I've got that word correct) Pied
Currawong.
John Layton.
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