Cassowary up-date

[Phil Gregory <>]

Cassowary House, Kuranda, FNQ
Since my last posting, the male Cassowary has since Jan 3 begun
bringing in the three chicks, which are about 8 weeks old ( first seen
Nov 2 when very tiny) and still stripey.
A Channel-billed Cuckoo was heard calling about 0400 on Jan
4, and Gould's Bronze Cuckoos are singing and calling a lot.
Spectacled, Pied and White-eared Monarchs are fairly
vocal, but Black-faced is very scarce this season, maybe an effect
of the still very dry conditions.
The Red-necked Crakes come daily, but no sign of any young as
yet.

We made a foray up to Cooktown on Jan 1, with a little birding en route. A White-browed Robin was in fairly open dry forest at Shipton's Flat, in lantana infested gullies. I had a quick check for White-streaked Honeyeaters there but did not hear or see any.
A flock of 70+ Pacific Swifts over Mossman late afternoon contained  5 or 6  much shorter tailed birds. Those I saw well looked to be Pacific Swifts due to the long wings and large size, but had squared tails or tails just slightly notched, looking a bit ragged on some. Primary moult was also evident. There were a couple of potential House Swifts amongst them, looking smaller, shorter winged and with the regulation squared off or slightly notched tail, but the light was poor and I was able to get no plumage details.
This is clearly a major identification pitfall on poor or brief views, though the jizz should help. I wonder if it is just at this time of year, when do Pacific Swifts normally moult?
Good birding
Phil Gregory
www. cassowary-house.com.au