I’m not too sure about this in Pied Currawongs but I watched and took a bit of video with my mobile phone of White-winged Choughs doing something much the same
thing at the adventure playground in Kambah on two different days at the same little depression at the base of a tree, about 2 weeks ago. I suspect this sort of thing is not published much, because people think it is a bit too routine to write it up. It is
a bit remarkable that another case can be found on a google search.
Philip
From: Canberrabirds
On Behalf Of Robin
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Sent: Saturday, 8 October, 2022 12:02 PM
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Subject: [Canberrabirds] Pied Currawongs "painting feathers" with clay
Walking on the lower west slopes of Mt Ainslie this morning, at a gully with strongly running water, I saw several Pied Currawongs flying down to exposed yellow clan on the gully
side.
They jabbed their beaks into the clay, then smoothed their beaks onto feathers/under wings etc.
A quick google search found only a report for Black Currawongs from the 1960s: eg.
Green, R.H.; Swift, J.W. (1966). "Feather painting by Black Currawongs". Emu. 65 (4): 253–54. doi:10.1071/mu965253
Is this common behaviour for the Pied Currawongs?
Robin Hide
