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Thanks for the responses.
I definitely saw white tail edges, so I'm going with Jacky Winters, which is nice because I don't think I've ever (knowingly) seen them before.
As for the nesting hollows, I'll be keeping an eye on them as the season progresses (they are in trees that have nest boxes in them as well). Hopefully someone will start nesting in them soon.
With the BFCS they were the only two that I saw in the vicinity, and they happened to fly along with us to several different nest trees. They probably were just a parent and offspring, though I might check HANZAB to see if it says anything about early breeding.
Thanks again!
Erika On 8 October 2012 20:42, Philip Veerman <> wrote:
Some
vague hints that may be entirely wrong answers:
Several birds do head bobbing (falcons and owls do it noticeably) this is a way of
getting views from different angles and is thought to aid in getting a enhanced
sense of visual distance perception.
Field
guide books will show you how to pick Jacky Winters from female robins (basically the same but the Jacky Winter has white tail
edges, which it emphasises by wagging the tail.
As for
Would it be likely that the
SCCs took over the hollow from the corellas? well that may be but not
necessarily. The behaviour as you have seen it seems fairly normal and it may
not mean that either species is using the hollow. They could still both be house
hunting. I expect cockatoos may do the same as these rosellas. I have two pairs
of Crimson Rosellas & one pair of Eastern Rosellas have been checking the
box in my yard for weeks. They all visit (separately) one to several times a day
and the females go into the box whilst the males sit outside chattering and tail
wagging. Each pair never stay for more than about ten minutes. Usually chased
off by either the currawongs (now nesting in the tree) or each other.
As for
a pair of Black-faced
Cuckoo-shrikes, one of which had a full face mask, but the other only had an eye
mask, indicating that it was a juv. What
about parent and young, although it would seem a late developer from last year
or maybe an early breeding from this year. Maybe they can breed whilst still in
juvenile plumage. Though being together is not breeding.
Philip
-----Original Message-----
From: Erika Roper
[
Sent: Monday, 8 October 2012 7:32
PM
To: canberrabirds
Subject: [canberrabirds] Re:
Kookaburras, cuckoo shrikes, jacky winters and nest hollow
disputes
It has been brought to my attention that the photo
I sent of the kookaburra eggs was rather large. Sorry, I didn't realise how big
it was. I've resized it, so here it is again if anyone is interested.
Erika
On 8 October 2012 17:32, Erika Roper <> wrote:
Hi all,
I have a few questions that I'm hoping you guys might have answers
to.
While out checking the rosella nest boxes today we came across a
kookaburra in one of them. As we approached it had its head out the hole and
was bobbing it up and down with its bill open. It then flew out
and joined its mate in a tree where they started laughing together.
I was wondering whether the head bobbing might have been a threat display of
some sort, or whether the bird just got stuck in the hole while trying to
leave. Attached is a photo of the three eggs we found in the box.
I also saw what I think were three Jacky Winters, though I'm not sure as
I haven't seen one before. My first thought was that I was seeing a female
robin of some sort, but then I saw three birds in the same plumage. Male
robins don't have eclipse plumage do they?
Also, when I was previously at this field site (a couple of weeks ago) I
noticed a pair of Little Corellas inspecting a nest hollow, however today the
hollow appeared to be in use by Sulphur-crested Cockatoos. Would it be likely
that the SCCs took over the hollow from the corellas? I just thought it was
interesting that the ownership of the hollow had changed in the last 2
weeks.
And lastly, I saw a pair of Black-faced Cuckoo-shrikes, one of which had
a full face mask, but the other only had an eye mask, indicating that it was a
juv. Do adults and juvs often hang out together as pairs? It just seemed a
little weird.
Any answers will be greatly appreciated, and I hope you all enjoy the
photo of the eggs. I hope to keep track of the kookaburra nest box over the
season, just out of interest.
Thanks,
Erika
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