birding-aus

Channel-billed Cuckoos

To: birding <>
Subject: Channel-billed Cuckoos
From: scouler <>
Date: Thu, 13 Sep 2001 18:39:05 +1000
According to HANZAB IV p 788, Channel-billed Cuckoos don't usually eject the young of host species, but the host chicks generally disappear within a week, presumably because the young cuckoos monopolize the food-supply from the host parents (citing Goddard and Marchant (1983) 17 Australian Birds 65-72)

Colin Scouler.

Alan Morris wrote:

Hi Birders,I was surprised to see the comment by Peter Adderly today who said" By the number of dead baby birds lying around the streets of the Central Coast and the almost continuing cackling sounds I'd say we'll have a lot of Channel-bills this spring...".As a resident of the Central Coast and a person who is out and about daily looking at birds, all I can say is I have neither heard a Channel-bill so far, nor seen any baby birds on the streets! Surely Peter Adderly is exaggerating! The actual action of a Channel-billed Cuckoo destroying/evicting eggs & young from Pied Currawaong nests, in order to make the host birds relay so that the cuckoos can synchonise their egg laying is rarely seen and most people would be totally oblivious to this activity. The first Central Coast Channel-billed Cuckoo was not noted until 8/9/01 at Empire Bay. Alan MorrisCentral Coast FOC Group
<Prev in Thread] Current Thread [Next in Thread>
Admin

The University of NSW School of Computer and Engineering takes no responsibility for the contents of this archive. It is purely a compilation of material sent by many people to the birding-aus mailing list. It has not been checked for accuracy nor its content verified in any way. If you wish to get material removed from the archive or have other queries about the archive e-mail Andrew Taylor at this address: andrewt@cse.unsw.EDU.AU