Magpie-Lark behaviour

[Judithla <>]

Thanks, Philip & Graeme. Many years ago when I was early in my Ornithology studies at CSU, the uncertainty around Magpie-lark origins was still there, & a “wader” theory was mentioned (depicting the bird striding the mud-edges of Australia’s inland waterbodies, now taxonomically solitary) … which I’ve found puzzling/amazing ever since. So thanks for clearing all that up! (Are there phylo/genetics now confirming the flycatcher history? Closest relative/s?)

For a mud-nester, fur would be a boon; & for a flycatcher, the ticks, etc., infesting roos, wallabies, etc, would be easy pickings. Certainly the roo in the footage looked relaxed. 

Cheers

Judith 

SEQ 500m

On Thursday, 2 May 2019, Philip Veerman <> wrote:

Now that is a funny one. The Magpie-lark is derived from flycatchers. It is not a magpie or a lark. It could not possibly be derived from waders because, at the most immediate level, it is a passerine, which is a long way from being a wader. I suggest we probably don’t see this behaviour in urban Australia because (apart from Canberra where kangaroos are abundant) we don’t see kangaroos in urban Australia. The bird you saw was likely either obtaining insects (food) from the kangaroo, or plucking fur, for a lining to its nest. Many birds (I believe it is mainly honeyeaters noted for doing this) will pluck fur from living mammals for their nest but we don’t see that in waders in Australia largely because those birds don’t breed here (or most don’t). Or the question is and I have no idea whether waders do this behaviour at all, where they do breed.

 

Philip

 

From: Birding-Aus [mailto:m("birding-aus.org","birding-aus-bounces");" target="_blank">birding-aus-bounces@birding-aus.org] On Behalf Of Judithla
Sent: Thursday, 2 May, 2019 2:24 AM
To: birding-aus (E-mail)
Subject: [Birding-Aus] Magpie-Lark behaviour

 

For just a few moments, watching the Kimberley dvd “Outback”, I saw a Magpie-Lark land on a kangaroo’s back, take a few steps, then tilt to peck in the fur. 

 

Is there still a question about the evolution / phylogenetics of this species? Weren’t they thought to have possibly derived from waders? This is a behaviour we do not see in urban Australia. 

 

Judith

 

--
JudithLA

 

-- 
JudithLA

<HR>
<BR> Birding-Aus mailing list
<BR> 
<BR> To change settings or unsubscribe visit:
<BR> http://birding-aus.org/mailman/listinfo/birding-aus_birding-aus.org
</HR>