Hi All
Not checking your emails for a few days can lead to interesting conclusions.
Seems I have been tried and sentanced in my absence.
I did mean Pheasant Coucal not Pheasant-tailed Coucal. I don't know what I was
thinking when I wrote the email but it was late at night. Maybe I was wishing
that I had been to Ashmore Reef.
The habitat that I saw the bird in was not "typical habitat for the species'
There was some longish grass on the side of the road but the paddock behind was
being grazed. The bird when disturbed by our passing car flew to a low branch
and sat there. Similar to behaviour I have seen on the NSW north coast and
Mackay. I have seen hundreds of these birds.
Almost everyday I see Lyrebirds on the side of the road on my way to work. On
most occasions they run into the nearby bushland and dont fly to a low branch.
I doubt it was pheasant as the plumage was dark brown and the shape was wrong.
An RLPB ranger told me that he had seen a Golden Pheasant in Murramarang
National Park while fox baiting a couple of years ago (also a few peacocks
getting around). This record and the Ring-necked Pheasants on Bowen Island
(Booderee NP) are the only records I know of pheasants in the area.
Just to confuse things a little more. When I pointed the bird out to the NPWS
field officer I was travelling with, he said that he had seen these birds
whilst slashing the Tianjara Fire Trail on the mountains above Ulladulla.
Tianjara is predominately heath.
It is always an interesting exercise posting sightings on Birding-aus. I am
lucky enough to have a job where I am in the bush often thus I see many
interesting things. I'm not really fussed about reporting sightings officially
unless they are threatened species, which I report to the NPWS Wildlife Atlas.
I think the birding-aus community should be cautious about detering people from
reporting sightings of unusual species in unusual areas. Just because you
weren't there doesn't mean that it didn't happen.
Who would of thought that you could see a Square-tailed Kite outside the Archer
Hotel in Nowra, NSW.
cheers
mike
---- Philip Veerman <> wrote:
> Hi Alan,
>
> This is my response just sent to the
> (along with some other messages to that list. I did not see where it went to
> BA):
>
> Sorry but I suggest there is a little confusion in this discussion. Pheasant
> Coucal is a large terrestrial cuckoo. I doubt the bird seen is a Pheasant
> Coucal. Like Ian, I suggest lyrebird or even an escaped domestic pheasant
> (any of various possible species) is more likely (depending on what the
> observer actually saw). Also "Pheasant-tailed Coucal" seems to be confusing
> names between Pheasant-tailed Jacana (which it surely isn't) and Pheasant
> Coucal. As for Caroline's comparison with koel and channel-billed cuckoos, it
> is not such a strong link. There is a big difference as these other two are
> strong fliers and are long-distance migrants that would normally arrive close
> to our region.
>
> Philip
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