This morning I was attracted to a strange call that I was unfamiliar with. A recording is attached. It sounded like someone clearing one’s throat every several seconds.
I found the bird after a hunt in the canopy (not very high) of an oak tree. It was a Satin Bowerbird. It was scalloped all the way from its tail to its throat. I did not get clear views of its head but I think it was brown.
I watched/listened to the bird for over 30 minutes. It moved just short hops between adjacent branches. I was expecting a female to come to feed it. Finally, another bird came, but no feeding. This second bird looked rather like the
first (size, colouring etc). They came beak to beak but no feeding reaction or feeding took place. Then they separated and both flew off.
So, I am not sure what I was witnessing. Was it a begging juvenile? Were the birds siblings? Perhaps someone might diagnose the call I recorded.
For Jack: yesterday (Saturday) I heard what I am pretty sure was a begging Koel. It was near the intersection of Hobart Av and National Circ in Forrest. I didn’t have bins or the time to locate the source of the sound. But a
probable dependent Koel.
David Rosalky
