Fan-tailed Cuckoo in the ANBG

["Philip Veerman" <>]

Geoff is correct and a similar point made locally is more obvious from the GBS Report. See the graphs for the cuckoos on page 95. The text states that the Fan-tailed Cuckoo is less migratory than other cuckoos. Although this is a quantitative rather than qualitative difference from most of the others.

 

Philip

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Geoffrey Dabb [
Sent: Thursday, 22 April 2010 12:28 PM
To:
Subject: FW: [canberrabirds] Fan-tailed Cuckoo in the ANBG

I suppose I have visited ANBG about 30 or so times since early Spring and I have heard FTCs more often than not.  I would not expect them to call throughout Winter, but it is not all that unusual to hear them in June and July.  Certainly, this is the least migratory of our cuckoos.  Below are the season maps for the species from the BA atlas.

 

As the species is rather sluggish and usually calls from the denser veg reporting is usually prompted by the call. This, I think largely explains the Spring map.  The other maps are not all that different from one another.  There would be a bit of altitudinal movement, and no doubt they range around somewhat in search of caterpillar concentrations.  If it were not called a ‘cuckoo’, I wonder if it would not be described as a ‘resident’.  On the other hand, local practice is to require a very slight amount of partial relocation to earn a species the ‘migrant’ label, so perhaps on that basis it is just another one of our many local ‘migrants’.  

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Robin Hide [
Sent: Wednesday, 21 April 2010 5:02 PM
To: COG line
Subject: [canberrabirds] Fan-tailed Cuckoo in the ANBG

 

At the Aus Nat Botanic Garden this afternoon at c. 4.0-4.15pm, in

section 191s (Sydney region), after hearing a persistent call, I had a

good view of a Fan-tailed Cuckoo.

Robin Hide