Feijoa, bowerbird, currawong ... and Wye River report

There is an online article about bird pollination of
the Feijoa here (you may have to become a member to  read it):

http://www.actahort.org/books/452/452_5.htm

Apparently it is fairly well documented that this tree relies on various bird species for pollination via the flower.

Peter

Lawrie Conole <>
Sent by:

16/12/2003 04:18 PM

To
cc
Subject	[BIRDING-AUS] Feijoa, bowerbird, currawong ... and Wye River report

Hi birders

I've just come back from a week of lazing about at Wye River in the eastern
Otway Ranges near Lorne,
SW Victoria.  No deliberate birding occurred, but a general list from
between the house and the
beach (circa 500m) follows below.  The usual highlights included Rufous
Bristlebirds in the back
yard, Koalas everywhere (highlight for the punters, lowlight for me - there
are way too many in this
area, and some trees are beginning to show it), Satin Bowerbirds in the
garden (including full
coloured male), King Parrots everywhere; etc. 

The main birding highlight undoubtedly was the circa 500 White-throated
Needletails that were
milling overhead most of the afternoon on 13/12/03.  Approximately
a quarter of them were obviously
in some stage of primary feather moult, with obvious gaps where the inner
primaries should be.  They
were circling over and around Wye River from about 1100 when I first noticed
them, until about 1700
when I noticed they'd gone.  The weather was overcast, mild-warm,
unsettled with an occasional wind
gust and light shower.

I'm writing here mostly to seek some feedback on interesting behaviour
of Satin Bowerbirds and Grey
Currawongs in a Feijoa (Acca [syn. Feijoa] sellowiana) tree.  Nothing
strange about either species
being in a fruit tree such as a Feijoa - except that there was no fruit
(it usually comes later in
Summer).  Both were eating petals from the flowers!  The bowerbird
was expertly picking off petals
and swallowing them whole - the currawong somewhat inexpertly pulling off
segements of petal and
swallowing them.  I tried one too - and found it to be slightly sweet
and a bit fleshy, but of
rubbery texture.

Question - have any other birders out there observed either of these birds
eating Feijoa petals (or
other flower petals)? ... or other bird species doing so?  Satin Bowerbirds
are apparently known to
eat leaves as well as fruit, but I've found no mention of them eating any
flower parts.  Likewise,
Grey Currawongs are fairly omnivorous and opportunistic - but I don't know
about flowers. 
Apparently this behaviour is well known by birds in the Feijoa's home range
centred on Brazil, and
in New Zealand (which bird species??), and seems to be 'designed' to facilitate
bird pollination.

Cheers, Lawrie



Australian Wood Duck                
Chenonetta jubata
Pacific Black Duck                
  Anas superciliosa
Australasian Gannet                
 Morus serrator
Great Cormorant                
     Phalacrocorax carbo
Nankeen Kestrel                
     Falco cenchroides
Masked Lapwing                
      Vanellus miles
Pacific Gull                  
      Larus pacificus
Silver Gull                  
       Larus novaehollandiae
Crested Tern                  
      Sterna bergii
Common Bronzewing                
   Phaps chalcoptera
Yellow-tailed Black-Cockatoo         Calyptorhynchus
funereus
Gang-gang Cockatoo                
  Callocephalon fimbriatum
Sulphur-crested Cockatoo             Cacatua
galerita
Australian King-Parrot              
Alisterus scapularis
Crimson Rosella                
     Platycercus elegans
Fan-tailed Cuckoo                
   Cacomantis flabelliformis
Southern Boobook                
    Ninox boobook
White-throated Needletail            Hirundapus
caudacutus
Laughing Kookaburra                
 Dacelo novaeguineae
Superb Fairy-wren                
   Malurus cyaneus
Spotted Pardalote                
   Pardalotus punctatus
Striated Pardalote                
  Pardalotus striatus
Rufous Bristlebird                
  Dasyornis broadbenti
White-browed Scrubwren              
Sericornis frontalis
Brown Thornbill                
     Acanthiza pusilla
Striated Thornbill                
  Acanthiza lineata
Red Wattlebird                
      Anthochaera carunculata
Little Wattlebird                
   Anthochaera chrysoptera
Yellow-faced Honeyeater              Lichenostomus
chrysops
Singing Honeyeater                
  Lichenostomus virescens
White-eared Honeyeater              
Lichenostomus leucotis
Brown-headed Honeyeater              Melithreptus
brevirostris
White-naped Honeyeater              
Melithreptus lunatus
Crescent Honeyeater                
 Phylidonyris pyrrhoptera
New Holland Honeyeater              
Phylidonyris novaehollandiae
Eastern Spinebill                
   Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris
Rose Robin                  
        Petroica rosea
Eastern Yellow Robin                
Eopsaltria australis
Golden Whistler                
     Pachycephala pectoralis
Grey Shrike-thrush                
  Colluricincla harmonica
Magpie-lark                  
       Grallina cyanoleuca
Grey Fantail                  
      Rhipidura albiscarpa
Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike            Coracina
novaehollandiae
Australian Magpie                
   Gymnorhina tibicen
Pied Currawong                
      Strepera graculina
Grey Currawong                
      Strepera versicolor
Little Raven                  
      Corvus mellori
Satin Bowerbird                
     Ptilonorhynchus violaceus
House Sparrow                  
     Passer domesticus
Red-browed Finch                
    Neochmia temporalis
European Goldfinch                
  Carduelis carduelis
Mistletoebird                  
     Dicaeum hirundinaceum
Welcome Swallow                
     Hirundo neoxena
Tree Martin                  
       Hirundo nigricans
Australian Reed-Warbler              Acrocephalus
australis
Silvereye                  
         Zosterops lateralis
Bassian Thrush                
      Zoothera lunulata
Common Blackbird                
    Turdus merula
Common Starling                
     Sturnus vulgaris

Short-beaked Echidna                
Tachyglossus aculeatus
Koala                    
           Phascolarctos cinereus
Sugar Glider                  
      Petaurus breviceps
Common Ringtail Possum              
Pseudocheirus peregrinus
Common Brushtail Possum              Trichosurus
vulpecula
White-striped Freetail-bat           Nyctinomus
australis
Gould's Wattled Bat                
 Chalinolobus gouldii

Cool-temperate Water-skink           Eulamprus
tympanum
Pale-flecked Garden Sunskink         Lampropholis guichenoti

Common Brown                  
      Heteronympha merope
Common Grass-Blue                
   Zizina labradas

70 species






+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Lawrie Conole
17 Stafford Street
NORTHCOTE Vic 3070 AUSTRALIA
<> or <>
Ph 9486 4542  Mob 0419 588 993

Senior Ecologist
Ecology Australia Pty Ltd
88 B Station Street
FAIRFIELD Vic 3078 AUSTRALIA

www.ecologyaustralia.com.au
BH 03 9489 4191  Mob 0419 588 993
Fax 03 9481 7679
+++++++++++++++++++++++++
Birding-Aus is on the Web at
www.shc.melb.catholic.edu.au/home/birding/index.html
To unsubscribe from this mailing list, send the message
"unsubscribe birding-aus" (no quotes, no Subject line)
to