The observations made by John Leonard are similar to the observations that
I have made around Canberra. My observations suggest that the all male
flocks indicate that breeding is going on nearby. The females are confined
to their nesting hollows and are being fed by the males. The females will
remain with the young for a couple of weeks after the eggs hatch so the
females are either sitting on eggs or confined to the nest with the young.
It is unlikely that the birds are migrating for they should have arrived on
their breeding grounds some six weeks ago now. I believe that it is
important to note the timing of these biased sex ratios in the populations
for it is an indication of the period when the breeding female is confined
to the hollow and it is also an indication of the size of the local
breeding population. I would suggest that the nests are likely to be
within 1-2km of the observations.
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