Hi birders,
A couple of people have recently asked about how to track down Song
Thrush in Melbourne. For a bit of fun (and because it's Friday and I'm
bored) I've put together a few notes that may help people locate this
somewhat cryptic bird.
* The relative territory size of the Song Thrush is large for a
passerine, about 4 hectares. This compares to the territory of a
European Blackbird, which is about 0.3 hectares. The large size is one
reason they are hard to track down in Melbourne parks and suburbs.
* Song Thrush is one of the earliest initiators of singing before
sunrise; about 40 minutes before dawn. (Blackbirds start slightly
earlier.) So if you want to find a Song Thrush it is worth getting to
your site before dawn (i.e. standard birding behaviour).
* The Song Thrush has a very large song repertoire, one of the
largest for the oscine (songbirds). It can be anywhere between 140 to
220 different songs. This compares with a Blackbird 20 to 50 different
songs. (The bird with the most songs is the Brown Thrasher from North
America. It looks quite similar to a Song Thrush and has a
repertoire of
3000 plus distinct songs. A Sunbird has one.)
* The most common call during the day is a sharp tsip (somewhat
similar to the Green Catbird, although that's just my opinion). It
is by
this call that I usually locate Song Thrush during the day.
* Snails! Song Thrush love snails! A sure fire why to track them
down is to look for empty piles of snail shells.
* Statistically in Melbourne they are best found that the
following
sites: Edwardes Lake Park, Reservoir (50%), Royal Botanic Gardens
(42%),
Royal Melbourne Zoo, Parkville (29%), Merri Creek Trail (19%), Newport
Lakes Reserve (17%). In the last couple of years they have also been
recorded at Brodie's Lakes (Greenvale Dam), Jells Park, Newport Lakes,
Northcote including my backyard.
* Although relatively common in Europe, they are in serious
decline. Let's hope it doesn't end up like the situation of the
Yellowhammer, which is probably more abundant in New Zealand than
it is
in Europe where it is also in serious decline. My feeling anecdotal
feeling is that Song Thrush are also declining Melbourne.
* Along with the European Blackbird, in Melbourne the Song
Thrush is
often described as a nice introduced bird, as opposed to Starlings,
Rock
Doves, sparrows etc. The only annoying thing they seem to do is
disturb
people suburban garden beds. Any thing else?
* The crest of the English soccer team West Bromwich Albion
features a Song Thrush! See
http://www.wba.premiumtv.co.uk/page/Home/0,,10366,00.html (The soccer
team I follow is Arsenal and the crest features a ... )
Now I should get back to doing some work. Believe it or not, I'm
actually flat out!
Cheers,
Tim Dolby
==============================www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
To unsubscribe from this mailing list,
send the message:
unsubscribe
(in the body of the message, with no Subject line)
to:
==============================
