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Hi
Margaret,
As I said to you at
the COG meeting, I think this quite curious and certainly a new one on me and
worth proper writing up (in CBN at least or maybe AFO or Sunbird - as most
people would associate the bird with Qld). I have just had a quick look at
HANZAB which doesn't appear to mention anything remotely similar to what you
have observed. That doesn't mean it is not known, the whole entry for the
species is amazingly short. It is also worth asking the staff at Tidbinbilla if
they can tell you anything additional to this, in particular whether they put
food for the magpie geese under stones or otherwise hidden, etc. That would
not be so unusual for such people to give captive animals a bit more variety in
their lives. If it is a learned behaviour that of course greatly alters the
context.
About the adelie
penguin, as far as I know that is quite different. I think they just use stones
for nest building, rather than digging for food. Does anyone know
different?
Philip
Veerman
24 Castley
Circuit
Kambah ACT
2902
02 - 62314041
I forwarded this photo of the
magpie goose to a friend of mine who once spent a year in Antarctica working
with the Adelie penguins. This was her response:
“It has picked up a lot
of adelie penguin traits. Rock relocation. Hard work for just a worm or 2 who
would have heard big bird coming!!”
I now wonder how many other species of birds do this kind of
thing.
Margaret Leggoe
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