A reasonable collection of bird calls is available at
http://garden.canberrabirds.org.au/
Fantail cuckoo call is there, but I am not sure whether male or
female. Last one did sound like a brassy whistle.
Cheers
Paul
Paul Fennell
BCG2 Editor
6254 1804
0407105460
From: Mark Clayton [
Sent: Friday, 11 September 2009 9:57 AM
To: 'Jack and Andrea Holland'; 'martin butterfield'; 'COG List'
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Pallid cuckoo calls
As Jack has noted, the Horsfield’s Bronze-Cuckoo does have a call
very similar to that of the Australian Pipit. This call is very obvious when I
have seen H B-C in central Australia when the birds are not breeding. I have
found several species of cuckoo in large numbers in the centre during the
“non-breeding” (??) season. The Fan-tailed Cuckoo also has another call other
than the familiar “postman’s whistle” downward trill. It is hard to put into
words but sounds something like a rather mournful “whaa whaaaarrr”, the second
note rising (at least to my ears and from memory) slightly towards the end.
And yes, I agree with everyone’s comments, it was a very enjoyable
and informative meeting on Wednesday evening.
Mark
From: Jack and Andrea Holland
[
Sent: Friday, 11 September 2009 9:00 AM
To: martin butterfield; COG List
Subject: Re: [canberrabirds] Pallid cuckoo calls
To
make matters more complicated, in my experience all the 5 local cuckoos can
make calls different from the best known, particularly when they are
responding to each other. A recent example is the two Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoos
currently in my local patch of NW Cooleman Ridge/Narrabundah Hill. A few
weeks ago they were making very house sparrow-like calls when on exposed
perches a 100 m or so apart. Last weekend while on a fence within cms of
each other the calling was a very pipit like "chirrup", one that
I've heard a number of times before (and is mentioned in Pizzey and
Knight). In both cases I was originally alerted by the
"traditional" call.
So
the moral of the story is if you see and hear what you think may be a pipit on
a fence, have a closer look. The very hunched posture of
cuckoos (they sit right on the wires with no/little leg showing) is another
clue.
-----
Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, September
11, 2009 7:45 AM
Subject: [canberrabirds]
Pallid cuckoo calls
Many thanks to Dan for an excellent talk and to Mark for his
rendition of calls. One call that he didn't do - and may be impossible
for a human to perform without damage to the larynx or dentures - was the
call of the female Pallid Cuckoo. It is described in Pizzey and Knight as
a 'hoarse brassy whistle". While HANZAB cites a source describing
this call as a possible territory defence response every time I have heard it
it has been given by a female bird responding to the typical call of a
male. Romantic interludes have sometimes followed.
The only recording I have been able to find of this call starts at 1 minute and
11 seconds into the BOCA tape calls for this species but (apart from copyright
issues) I doubt if list members would appreciate a 1.8Mb attachment.
Martin
