Gang-gang adult male feeding dependent young

[Martin Butterfield <>]

Robin

I have seen young male GGs with far less red on the scone feeding themselves quite happily on hawthorns on the Hoskinstown Plain.  I thus see these photos as further evidence of the need for an IY breeding code (for Indolent Young).  Perhaps the adult needs counselling about encouraging undesirable dependency.

In eBird the situation illustrated would clearly be a "Feeding Young" record rather than "Recently Fledged Young".

Martin Butterfield

http://franmart.blogspot.com.au/

On 21 May 2016 at 10:12, Robin Hide <> wrote:

Update- this young male GG is still apparently DY (after 5 weeks- assuming that it’s the same family).

About once a week they turn up at our garden (Ainslie), and repeat this feeding process.

Only the adult male feeds the young one.

Is this an unusually long period of dependency? and is it usual for only one parent to feed the young?

Robin Hide

 

 

 

 

 

From: Robin Hide
Sent: Saturday, 16 April 2016 1:50 PM
To: Canberra Birds
Subject: Gang-gang adult male feeding dependent young

 

This morning an adult pair of Gang-gangs appeared in our garden (Ainslie) with an immature male (apparently full size)  in tow. The adults fed at a feeder, while the immature remained on an overhead powerline, occasionally calling. The female flew off, the male flew up to the line and repeatedly fed the young one. The adult male then flew back to the feeder, ate some more (while the young one flew off),  and then flew off itself.

We’ve never seen adult Gang-gangs feeding an immature bird here before.

 

Robin Hide