I just saw what I assume is courtship behaviour in Australian Ravens, in a form I haven’t seen before and not really as described in HANZAB. Two birds (both adults with white irises) were calling on open ground in my front yard in Ainslie,
and gradually moved on foot across the park opposite over a 10 minute period. One bird with prominent throat hackles and sleek body plumage was following the other, which had its body plumage slightly raised and its wings drooping a little. I took the second
bird to be the female by its behaviour although it appeared to be the larger of the two, probably due to its raised feathers. The (presumed) male was repeatedly calling ‘uh-aaah’, while the leading bird was making a quieter rhythmic ‘unh-unh-unh’ call.
They twice briefly took the display up inside Cotoneaster bushes, possibly because they were being mobbed by the local Noisy Miners, and by one then eventually three Pied Currawongs. The Ravens flew away (pursued by the harassing birds)
when they were disturbed by people walking through the park. One of the bushes they hopped through contains a Noisy Miner nest about 2 metres off the ground, but they didn’t appear to attack it.
Alison R
