canberrabirds

Unknown bird with unusual flight pattern

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Subject: Unknown bird with unusual flight pattern
From: "Paul T." <>
Date: Wed, 23 Jul 2008 17:53:26 +1000
Howdy All,

This is a somewhat strange ID request. On Friday morning I was heading up to Bowral. I'd gone through Gungahlin, turned right and was heading along Horse Park Dr (I think?) towards the big overpass on the Federal Highway. Just after I'd turned right on to that road a bird flew across in front of me. A fairly non-descript colouration of a couple of shades of greyish brown but with quite chunky in build. It looked to be about the length of a Red Wattle Bird, but was much broader in the body. The thing that attracted my attention was the method of flight, something I had never come across before. After each flap of it's wings it folded them completely back to it's body, looking like a bird would do when sitting on a branch (if you know what I mean), then snap them out again for a flap, then back completely closed. While I've seen Rosellas do this after ever few wingbeats, this one did it every wing beat. It almost looked like it shouldn't be flying as more of it's time was spent with wings folded than with the wings actually opened. I have never seen a bird fly like this before, so I am wondering what bird it was? I didn't get that good a look at the bird other than basic colour and chunkiness of build, so there is no chance of me IDing it from a book. Is that flight pattern something unique enough to identify it?

Yes I realise that there are some here who will feel I am wasting time even asking, and I do apologise to those who feel that way. I just couldn't work out how else I could find out what the bird was. I'd love to search it out and see it flying again as it just looked so "wrong" while in flight. Totally fascinating.

Any ideas anyone?

Cheers.

Paul T.
Higgins, ACT

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