What a brilliant record. I'll be surprised if it hangs around, they aren't that
territorial, but you never know.
Hoopoe is a long distant migrant that reaches the Malay Peninsula, Sumatra and
Borneo as a vagrant (subspecies saturatus I believe). It also winters on
islands like the Maldives and Adamans, so it is not averse to migrating
across water. It is not kept in cages in Java, where many of the boats
originate (though it might be in Sri Lanka). I don't think there have been many
boats stopped near Broome lately, anyway. There is no evidence at this stage
that it had to arrive by boat, and I would think naturally vagrancy is much
more likely in this case. It is the migration season after all, and it seems
no less likely than many of the other astounding rarities that have shown up in
Broome in the last decade or two.
David James,
Sydney
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________________________________
From: Philip Veerman <>
To: 'Birding-aus' <>
Sent: Thursday, 10 November 2011 4:32 PM
Subject: Hoopoe at Broome
I have only been out of Australia once, to China 2 years ago and I saw
two of these in two very distant places. Quite an amazing funny looking
bird. My father lived in Israel and had these as garden birds. Hard to
imagine it flying here from Asia or east Africa or Madagascar. I wonder
whether Asian or middle eastern people keep them as pets (or even eat
them) but this is surely assisted as a boat arrival.
Do customs or coast guard ever find fauna among the possessions of the
boats that Tony wants to stop?
Philip
-----Original Message-----
From:
On Behalf Of Gemfyre
Sent: Thursday, 10 November 2011 4:07 PM
To: Jeff Davies; Birding-aus
Subject: Hoopoe at Broome
Okay I'll bite. How the heck did a Hoopoe come to be at Roebuck
Roadhouse?
Belinda
Stirling W.A.
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