Yes – happens occasionally Robin. I call it a Chough Pile-on. I am reminded of the moment in the Franklin Dam case when we were briefing a certain Minister about ‘the flying-fox pylon’. He was puzzled by this, until a light dawned: “Oh you mean this is a man-made feature?” - he had been grappling with the concept of a “Flying-fox Pile-on”. I’d like to see THAT
From: Robin Hide [
Sent: Tuesday, 5 February 2013 3:03 PM
To: Canberra Birds
Subject: [canberrabirds] Chough scrum query
Yesterday, near the lower gate (feeding area) at the Tidbinbilla Waterbird area, a group (6, I think) of W-w Choughs were piled up quietly in a scrum on the ground- they were'nt being aggressive, or noisy. They did'nt have wings, feathers spread aout as if anting... After a minute or two, they seperated, stood up and walked off. Is this a normal element of Chough behaviour?
Robin Hide
