Actually it was more of a back flip, performed twice in an interval of
about a minute apart just above the treetops. The bird appeared to swing
it's tailbeneath its body and turn over; i couldn't see any other bird
watching but then who knows ......
I returned the following evening with 2 other birders and we located the
bird with another (presumably female) also up to 4 others in the patch of
scrub near the river. There was none of the exuberant display of the
previous night so either he was tired out or having attracted a mate felt
no further need to show off. The pair flew out over the treetops together
but we couldn't detect a courtship dance.
On the third night (word had got around) a visiting birder from South
Australia got splendid views of the male bird - again hanging from
the fence posts and calling. We haven't been back since but I hope to go
out again tonight if circumstances permit.
Question; do north american nightjars perform "wheelies" and backflips?
Cheers
Wed, 8 Oct 1997, WM James Davis wrote:
> Alex:
> Can you supply any more details about the nightjar's "wheelies"? How
> many were done? In the open? Was any other bird present? Was the bird
> feeding? etc. TIA
>
> Cheers, Jim
>
> On Wed, 8 Oct 1997, Alexandra Appleman wrote:
>
> >
> > Date: Wed, 8 Oct 1997 07:59:21 +1000 (EST)
> > From: Alexandra Appleman <>
> >
> >
> > Yesterday around dusk (6.30pm here in Townsville, 19 degrees south of the
> > equator) I got the best views ever of a male large tailed nightjar calling
> > and doing wheelies at the mangroves near 'National Park' in the suburb of
> > Railway Estate.
> >
> > The bird perched on the fence of a nearby construction site for several
> > minutes so that I could see not only the white panes on the tail, but also
> > that this particular bird has quite a pronounced white throat. This is the
> > first time I had seen one perched as opposed to darting through the trees
> > with amazing acrobatic agility. It hung there in a similar manner to a
> > treecreeper.
> >
> > Pizzey and Knight list the bird as common in rainforest but patchily
> > distributed south of Ingham. As well as 'National Park' the nightjar can
> > be found during the breeding season at Pallarenda on the coast.
> >
>
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