Here are some points for anyone interested is satisfying their curiosity about local information on a particular species. Apart from the basic ACT books that we have discussed from time to time, there are two very useful sources:
1) The chatline archive. This can be called up through the link that appears at the bottom of some messages.
List archive: <http://bioacoustics.cse.unsw.edu.au/archives/html/canberrabirds>
I keep a message that lists that link in a message folder, and I can quickly go to it and bring it up in a few seconds
2) The other source is the scanned copies of Canberra Bird Notes (thanks again Alastair Smith) that can be brought up through the COG website. There are cautions about accuracy of the scanning, and more recent issues are not included, but they are very easy to search. Just now I put in ‘Red-whiskered Bulbul’ and brought up the record by Steve Wilson in 1993 and the one by Henry Nix in 1999. These are reproduced below. This took about 3 minutes.
Canberra Bird Notes 24(1) March 1999
ODD OBS
Red-whiskered Bulbul at Lake George, NSW
On 13 February 1999 while participating
in a forum on Lake George at 'Silver
Wattle' — a convention centre located
below the escarpment along Lake Road
north of Bungendore — I heard the
unmistakable calls of a Red-whiskered
Bulbul Pycnonotus jocosus. I was able to
establish that the calls were coming from
the old orchard to the north of the
building, but I was not able to leave the
small conference room without giving
offense to the speaker. Calling sequences
were repeated for twenty five minutes
and then ceased some fifteen minutes
before the morning-tea break released
me for a search. Both this and a more
thorough search during the lunch break
were unsuccessful and no further calls
were heard.
While visual confirmation was not
obtained I am in no doubt that the bird
calling was a Red-whiskered Bulbul — a
species with which I am thoroughly
familiar both in its native habitats in Asia
as well as its occurrence as an introduced
species both in Sydney and Melbourne
as well as in Honolulu, Mauritius and
Reunion. Because it is a popular cage
bird in some cultures I did check whether
this might have been the case at 'Silver
Wattle' or on adjoining properties, but
drew a blank on that possibility.
The first and only published report of the
Red-whiskered Bulbul in the local region
was of a single bird heard and then seen
in a Canberra garden on 16 May, 1993
(S.J. Wilson, 1993). A sedentary species
in its native habitat. most extensions of
r a n g e a n d e s t a b l i s h m e n t o f n e w
populations have been attributed to
deliberate releases and aviary escapes
( L o n g , 1 9 8 1 ) . H o w e v e r , s t e a d y
expansion of range following a variable,
but often lengthy, period of initial
establishment and consolidation is also
well documented for many sedentary
s p e c i e s . W h e r e a r e t h e n e a r e s t
established populations of the Redwhiskered Bulbul? Is the species present
as a cage bird in the Canberra region?
Documentation of the dispersal and
establishment of exotic species is
important, because without it our
understanding of those processes will
remain limited.
References
Long, John L. (1981) Introduced Birds of the
World. Reed: Sydney. pp.296-9
Wilson, S.J. (1993) Red-whiskered Bulbul —
a new species for the Australian Capital
Territory. Canberra Bird Notes 18(3):
44.
Henry Nix, 22 Syme Crescent,
RED-WHISKERED BULBUL - A NEW SPECIES FOR THE AUSTRALIAN
CAPITAL TERRITORY
S.J. Wilson
On 16 May 1993. whilst in my front garden, I heard a bird calling from behind the
house. I immediately recognised the call as being that of a Red-whiskered Bulbul
Pyconotus jocosus - a species I have seen and heard frequently in Sydney. I went in
quest of the source of the call and found the bird sitting by itself, calling, on the
powerlines above the back fence. The bird was readily identified by its call and its
rather erect posture, prominent crest, and relatively long tail. The crown was black
with a permanently erect black crest. Its lores and throat were white with a black
tapered line on the side of the throat. The breast was fawn (Simpson and Day (1993)
have the colour closer than Slater et al. (1986) though the pose is better in the latter),
the back plain brown, and the tail dark grey with white terminal spots.
No native bird has the crest and posture. The bird most likely to resemble a
Red-whiskered Bulbul may be an adult male Rufous Whistler. but its perching
stance is not as vertical. and the breast is a deeper rufous shade. It also does not
have the crest and therefore there is really little similarity except vaguely in colour.
Together with my wife, I observed the bird for about eight minutes. with both
the naked eye and binoculars (5x10), until it flew off in a southerly direction.
Details of the sighting were submitted to the Rarities Panel and have been
endorsed by them. (See Rarities Panel News in this issue. eds.)
-----Original Message-----
From: Mark Clayton [
Sent: Wednesday, 16 January 2013 4:24 PM
To: 'Steve Holliday';
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Red whiskered Bulbul
Red-whiskered Bulbuls are also going north and are now regular in (southern) parts of Newcastle. There is also a population in Mackay in Queensland that doesn't seem to make it into field guides.
Thanks to David McDonald for pointing out the reference in Steve Wilson's excellent book. This is probably the best reference book to birds in the ACT. As I said yesterday I thought that there were 3 records locally and have a recollection of the bird first being recorded at (?)Silver Wattle property on Lake George, I think by Henry Nix but could be mistaken.
Mark
-----Original Message-----
From: Steve Holliday [m("iinet.net.au","pruesteve");">]
Sent: Wednesday, 16 January 2013 11:03 AM
To: m("canberrabirds.org.au","canberrabirds");">
Subject: RE: [canberrabirds] Red whiskered Bulbul
We saw some during ANU surveys at Beecroft Peninsula (Jervis Bay) last spring, a little further south than Nowra
Cheers
Steve
-----Original Message-----
From: Bill & Raelene [m("grapevine.com.au","graham.br63");">]
Sent: Tuesday, 15 January 2013 9:14 PM
To: m("canberrabirds.org.au","canberrabirds");">
Subject: [canberrabirds] Red whiskered Bulbul
Having seen the Red Whiskered Bulbul's progress as far south as Nowra in recent years, I predict that one day they will turn up in the COG area of interest and the ACT. Would anyone like to contradict that or agree and give a date when it could happen? What is the closest sighting anyone has had?
Bill
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