On Wed, Jul 03, 2013 at 08:46:36PM +1000, Robert Inglis wrote:
> I must have listened to a different interview with John Young this
> morning..........
> Or perhaps I read something about playback of the call somewhere else.........
> Doesn’t anyone understand what John Young has been saying about how the
> parrots reacted to the playback?
The radio interviews left me confused. John Young mentioned recording
a call at 1.5km which would suggest a call louder than an Eastern Ground
Parrot but he also talks about calls being very quiet and once also loud.
He mentions calling in response to playing of a call and he mentions
birds approaching with apparently agonistic behaviour after playback -
suggesting a territorial response but he also suggested the reverse with
playing of call suppressing activity for several days.
It would be really interesting to know what calls were played - individual
recognition is possible and may affect response.
John Young suggested there were less than 200 Night Parrots left. There
is a vast area of possibly suitable habitat (depending on rainfall) so I
don't understand how any estimate can be offered. The birds photographed
might be the last or there might be 10000+ - unless you know something
that hugely reduces the potential habitat.
None of the above is criticism - you won't expect a radio interview
to provide this sort of precise info - may more was said at
the Qld museum?
Andrew
|
