A few days ago I was in my back yard in Altona, and looked up when I heard an
unfamiliar bird call. Two birds flew fast a few metres above my head, then up
into a neighbour's gum tree. My impression as they passed was that they were
moving like I have seen Horsfield's Bronze-cuckoos fly, very fast and "terrain
hugging" with swept back wings, but that the underwing pattern was something
unusual (although I can't remember it).
As they landed in the tree 20m away I could tell they were parrots, with small
bodies and long, very pointy tails. My impression was that their necks were
unusually long. As I headed inside to get some binoculars, they flew off and
landed a few houses away, where they remained for a few minutes.
I went inside to compare the flight calls with the BOCA CDs, and as usual
didn't try to write it down first so I've forgotten it. However, my impression
was that it matched but was clear, not harsh like the recording. I haven't
seen them before, and would be saying they were definitely Swift Parrots, but
for that last fact.
Would anyone like to comment on how likely it is that they were? If not then
I'm not sure what else they could be. There are Red-rumped Parrots around
here, although I've never seen them in the back yard before, and their tails
looked too pointy. I haven't heard a RRP make that call before. They
definitely weren't Rainbow Lorikeets, and I can't think of any other long
tailed parrots.
Peter Shute
==============================www.birding-aus.org
birding-aus.blogspot.com
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