Val
A little personal experience to add to your variation in Pied Currawong
calls. Up here in Queensland there is also a marked difference in the
calls of Pied Currawongs depending on their location. While those in
Brisbane sound like the NSW birds (at any rate in the north of NSW, e.g.
Gibraltar Range)) those out at Carnarvon Gorge in the central west have a
different set of calls, as also do those on the islands off the central Qld
coast. All these are markedly different although there are similarities
between the two above-mentioned areas that don't occur in Brisbane, and
each of them has calls that I've not heard elsewhere. All have the tonal
quality of Pied Currawongs, however.
It would be interesting to see if there is a similarity between these
Central Qld birds' calls and those in the deep south. A fascinating
parallel case is the White-plumed Honeyeater with its pre-dawn calls that
have an incredible variation, with similarities cropping up in the most
distant and diverse locations. All good fun.
Helen Horton
At 01:31 PM 2/05/03 +1000, Valerie Curtis wrote:
Hello Birding-Ausers,
I have a query about the calls of Pied Currawongs.
I normally live in Gembrook (VIC) and have Pied Currawongs around most of
the time. I also visit Mt Hotham (VIC) quite a lot where there are also lots
of PCs. These places are about 300-400km apart as the Currawong flies, yet
there is very little difference between their calls. I am now in northern
NSW, based in Byron Bay and again have PCs around the house all the time.
The call of these birds is totally different from the Vic call that I am
familiar with. I visit a friend about 5km away and there the calls are
different again.
At Murwillumbah, Tweed Heads and Ballina (all golf courses!) and several
other places I have again noticed a big difference in the calls. Sometimes
it takes a couple of minutes for me to even recognise that it is a PC
calling. There is always a distinctive PC quality in each of the dialects
but I don't think an individual from Byron Bay would be able to understand
one from Mullimbimby. It would be like a person from far North Scotland
talking to a Cockney from London.
Maybe this is a well-known and documented fact that I haven't caught up
with.
I would be interested to hear other people's comments and any web sites that
I can visit to read about this interesting phenomenon. I haven't got many
bird books with me, only Simpson/Day and Pizzy/Knight both of which describe
what I perceive as the Victorian call.
Val Curtis at beautiful but wet Byron Bay
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