I think this is not common behaviour, most cuckoos seem to be mostly not
very social. I have only one specific recollection of something similar and
it was at the time that I did keep good records, in an exercise book. Which
looking at, I can transcribe the details. On the Australia Day weekend camp
for the BOC at Linton, Victoria in January 1975. The BOC had access to a
property there and this was one of the regular camp or day outing spots and
often mentioned in their publications. I noted Horsfield's Bronze-Cuckoos as
a highlight for the weekend because "there was such an incredible number of
them, more cuckoos than what I have ever seen before." More to the point,
considering my minor age and limited experience then, compared to now, is
that it is still surely more cuckoos than what I have ever seen since (in
one area). I suspect probably about 20 of them within about 2 to 4 hectares,
but that is remembering a very old guess. But I do recall there was a lot of
interactions and chasing each other around. I don't recall any calling but
assume they would have been. So this may be a comparable observation. If you
really want, I could pull out the old BOC monthly magazine, to see if this
is described any further. (I still have then all from 1969.)
Philip
-----Original Message-----From: Ian Fraser
Sent: Sunday, 4 November 2012 2:49 PM
To: Cog line
Subject: cuckoo behaviour
This morning along the Sanctuary boarkwalk at Tidbinbilla I and a number
of other people watched behaviour that I
hadn't seen before, and which doesn't seem to have been widely reported.
>From a distance it sounded like a flock of them, which made me wonder
>if
I was totally misidentifying the calls. There were 3 birds, moving
slowly through the trees, but in the process constantly chasing each
other, calling constantly and continually stopping to display with
spread wings and a quivering posture; this was usually done on an open
branch, sometimes very close to one of the others. We watched for most
of half an hour, and in the end left them to it.
cheers
Ian
--
Ian Fraser,
Environment Tours; Vertego Environmental Consultancy
PO Box 4148, Weston Creek, ACT 2611
ph: 61 2 6287 4813
Blog: http://ianfrasertalkingnaturally.blogspot.com.au
---
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