The following is Stephen Debus' comment on the observation:
"Hi Greg,
Thanks for the notes. I can use the kite one as a field note in Boobook,
but would also point out that there have been 2 papers in ABW (not long
before it became AFO) devoted to Square-tails taking paper-wasp nests and
eating the larvae (with photos in one), and an earlier one that mentions
the habit. I don't have it on me right now, but think I mentioned it in
the raptor field guide 2nd edn too. HANZAB 2 was comprehensive, but it's
20 years old now and superseded by many raptor papers (cited in the field
guide...).
Cheers,
Steve"
For those who are not aware 'ABW' refers to Australian Bird Watcher and
'AFO' refers to Australian Field Ornithology.
Greg
Dr Greg. P. Clancy
Ecologist and Birding-wildlife Guide
PO Box 63 Coutts Crossing NSW 2460
0266493153 0429601960
-----Original Message-----
From: Nick Leseberg
Sent: Friday, February 01, 2013 5:23 PM
To: Birding-aus
Subject: Interesting Dietary Observations - Square-tailed Kite
and Nankeen Night-Heron
Hi All, A couple of interesting dietary observations recently which I
thought were worth mentioning. This morning I was driving through Anstead on
the southwestern outskirts of Brisbane and spotted a Square-tailed Kite fly
up into a large tree and perch. They are regular in the area, but I rarely
see them perched, so stopped to watch. I didn't have bins, but it became
clear the bird had 'caught' something and was feeding on it. It then dropped
a large piece of its prey and I was able to pick it up off the ground,
expecting perhaps the wing of nestling or something similar. It turned out
to be part of a wasp's nest, which the bird had found and was now
dismembering, presumably searching for the larvae in the nest. A quick look
at HANZAB shows that these kites do feed on insects, but it seems they are
opportunity feeders, taking insects from the outer foliage such as stick
insects. Searching for larvae in a wasp nest would indicate that the birds
know the nests contain food and
either deliberately seek them out or take them opportunistically, an
unrecorded behaviour as far as I know.
On a similar note, I was birding in Kalinga Park on the north side of
Brisbane recently and spotted a Nankeen Night-Heron standing on the side of
a creek with a very large prey item in its bill. On closer observation it
appeared to be an adult Dusky Moorhen, or perhaps a very large Purple
Swamphen chick. Again, a quick glance at HANZAB shows that night-herons have
been recorded taking small ducklings and European Starlings, but nothing
this large. It was early morning and light wasn't great so there wasn't
time
to confirm what the prey was before the bird flew off, struggling to
take its prey with it; I would have been interested to see how the
night-heron ate it. Anyway, a couple of interesting observations I thought
worth sharing. If anyone has any questions, please let me know.
Cheers and good birding!
Nick
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