Magpie-lark fishing - has been reported before in Canberra.

["Philip Veerman" <>]

Hi Barbara,

 

Thanks. Yes indeed, I thought it had been written up but what I found was the emails. Obviously I am not as familiar with CBN as I was when I was editing it. That it was written up on Canberra Bird Notes, 30 (2), June 2005, p. 84 makes it a bit sad that this was not referred to in CBN 34(2): 136. It is the same journal and only four years apart! Things are published for a reason, I hope! Oh well, maybe Barbara's is the first such observation and maybe Anne's is the second.

 

Philip Veerman

24 Castley Circuit

Kambah  ACT  2902

 

02 - 62314041

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Barbara Preston [
Sent: Sunday, 5 July 2009 2:09 PM
To: Philip Veerman;
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Magpie-lark fishing - has been reported before in Canberra.

Hi Philip

I think that was my observation you have in mind. I've kept most of the email exchange re HANZAB from the time. Following is what appeared in Canberra Bird Notes, 30 (2), June 2005, p. 84. Unfortunately the Magpie-larks do not visit  frequently these days, and I've had no more interesting sightings. 

cheers

Barbara

Piscivorous Magpie-lark

A pair of Magpie-larks Grallina cyanoleuca have been resident in our neighbourhood for many years, rearing a good number of youngsters. We have a pond in which multi-coloured goldfish successfully breed every summer. The pond has a three metre by half a metre shallow section over river stones, where the fish, especially the young ones, spend time feeding. The Magpie-larks paddle through the shallows, finding insects among the plants edging the pond, small black water snails on the stones, and sometimes successfully eating the flesh of a ramshorn snail (though more often we find the safely withdrawn ramshorn on the ground around the pond — safe, that is, if we get it back to the water in time).

In March 2004 the male Magpie-lark took a young white goldfish about four centimetres long. I saw him first with the wriggling fish firmly in his beak (fish tail one side, head the other) as he moved out of the water and over several metres of paving to where the female and offspring were fossi c k in g in l e a f l i t t e r . Unfortunately they were just out of clear view and I could not see what he finally did with the fish. It would have been interesting to know if indeed he ate it as, so far as I am aware, fish are not normally part of the diet of Magpielarks.

Barbara Preston

21 Boobialla Street, O'Connor, ACT

2602

 

 

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