Phillip,
The cicada birds are a regular to this area (Pomona in Noosa Hinterland)
every summer and usually nest in and around our property (in fact the very
first orphaned bird I ever raised was a cicada bird which I saw falling from
its nest and which my husband managed to catch before it hit the ground).
I wonder if the call you are referring to, could be called a sort of
'ticking' noise (like tchika, tchika, tchika) and we have heard the male
doing this quite regularly during the time the birds are with us and we have
also observed that when it is making this call, it seems to turn from side
to side with each few 'ticks').
The first time I heard it, I saw the male and female mating immediately
after, so thought it was somehow connected with the mating ritual. However,
since then I have heard the male make this call at many differing times, and
this year, I heard him doing it shortly after he arrived here in September.
Jenny Bradford, Pomona, Qld
Jenny B's Flower & Crystal Essences
http://www.spiderweb.com.au/~jennyb/
"Few are those who see with their own eyes and feel with their own hearts."
-----Original Message-----
From: Philip A Veerman <>
To: birding aus <>
Cc: Tony Harding <>; Sue Mathews
<>; Paul Fennell <>; Paul
Fennell <>; Jenny Bounds <>;
James Nicholls <>; Jack Holland
<>; Ian Fraser <>; Ian A Baird
<>; Harvey Perkins <>; Geoff
Dabb <>; David McDonald <>; Chris
Davey <>; Bruce Lindenmayer <>;
Malcolm Fyfe <>; Lyn Finch <>
Date: Thursday, 5 November 1998 12:40
Subject: Cicadabird chirps
>I led an outing for COG into Brindabella National Park (just out of the
>northern edge of ACT border) on 1-11-1998 and my main aim was to find
>Cicadabirds. They are at best, an uncommon (and difficult to find) summer
>migrant to the higher parts of our region. I bought along the BOCA "Field
>guide to Australian Birdsong" cassette (no. 6) and played the calls of the
>Cicadabird. At one site a male Cicadabird appeared and started calling. Of
>course I have no way of knowing whether it heard or responded to the
>recorded call or turned up independently. Although the bird was furtive and
>in the tree tops, fortunately it called often enough and moved little
enough
>for us all to see it. That was rewarding but the point of this note is to
>mention that in between their usual odd buzzing it made a whole lot of
>chirping sounds. These were new to me, quite parrot like and totally
>different from the buzzing sound. This same call is included on the BOCA's
>cassette. The available books vary as to whether they include such a sound
>in the species' account. If Pizzey & Knight mention it, it is described as
>the female's call. However this was all the male's doing. I just thought
>someone might be interested. (I was also intrigued to note that the bird in
>flight, showed a quite striking underwing pattern. It was pleasing to note
>afterwards that Frank Knight's picture shows this.)
>
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