Vickie Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) I'm sure this is a very common bird, but I can't seem to ID it. Does anyone know what it is? It lives in my front yard & is really quite tame. Edited October 7, 2009 by Vickie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 cuckoo? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Fan-tailed cuckoo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) Yep I reckon it's a cuckoo of some kind. You're too quick, I concur Professor Miranda! Edited October 7, 2009 by Kirislin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted October 7, 2009 Author Share Posted October 7, 2009 (edited) thank you. It is definitely a Fan Tailed Cuckoo. I use the Birds in Backyards site all the time, but I must have searched incorrectly as this one didn't come up...but it is on there. ETA. I'm not so sure I like it now :rolleyes: "As with most other species of Australian cuckoos, the Fan-tailed Cuckoo is a brood parasite; laying its eggs in the nests of other species of birds. Host species include flycatchers, fairy-wrens, scrubwrens and thornbills, particularly the Brown Thornbill, Acanthiza pusilla. A single egg is laid in the nest and one of the host's eggs removed. The young cuckoo generally hatches earlier than the host's eggs and proceeds to eject the other eggs or hatchlings. The seemingly unaware foster parents then rear the cuckoo chick." although it is eating my hairy caterpillars Edited October 7, 2009 by Vickie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Miranda Posted October 7, 2009 Share Posted October 7, 2009 Yep I reckon it's a cuckoo of some kind.You're too quick, I concur Professor Miranda! I'm a keen bird watcher, it's one of my hobbies :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 I took a pic of a red wattle bird feeding a giant cuckoo baby last year, can't remember what I've done with the pics now. The coo-ee bird (koel) is back in my street this year. He makes an appearance every year, travelling from way up north or maybe even as far as PNG or Asia. I heard him this morning, he was in a nearby tree. Typically, as soon as I brought my camera downstairs, he had vanished. They are shy but I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for him as last year I spotted him on top of a nearby roof. He's glossy black with ruby red eyes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBL Posted October 8, 2009 Share Posted October 8, 2009 I took a pic of a red wattle bird feeding a giant cuckoo baby last year, can't remember what I've done with the pics now. The coo-ee bird (koel) is back in my street this year. He makes an appearance every year, travelling from way up north or maybe even as far as PNG or Asia. I heard him this morning, he was in a nearby tree. Typically, as soon as I brought my camera downstairs, he had vanished. They are shy but I'm going to keep my eyes peeled for him as last year I spotted him on top of a nearby roof. He's glossy black with ruby red eyes. Can't believe I missed this thread! - Ripley - Birds in Backyards has a Koel survey running so let us know when your boy is around :p Vicki - so glad you like and use the Birds in Backyards website - are you a member? We are going to be giving it a facelift soon and I want to work on the Bird Finder a bit - it needs some tweeking. Great photo btw and how lucky are you to have a fan-tailed cuckoo around! I am very jealous! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted October 9, 2009 Author Share Posted October 9, 2009 Vicki - so glad you like and use the Birds in Backyards website - are you a member? We are going to be giving it a facelift soon and I want to work on the Bird Finder a bit - it needs some tweeking. I LOVE the site CBL!!! I have been using it for a few years now, and I have found it invaluable in identifying birds. I am not a member, maybe I will go & join now. One thing I would like to see is a couple more photos for each bird...as some species are so simlar that it is hard to ID from a single photo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBL Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Vicki - so glad you like and use the Birds in Backyards website - are you a member? We are going to be giving it a facelift soon and I want to work on the Bird Finder a bit - it needs some tweeking. I LOVE the site CBL!!! I have been using it for a few years now, and I have found it invaluable in identifying birds. I am not a member, maybe I will go & join now. One thing I would like to see is a couple more photos for each bird...as some species are so simlar that it is hard to ID from a single photo. Unfortunately in some cases we only have one or two photos - we are always keen on getting more :p One feature I want to build into the site is the ability to click and enlarge the photo. Once we get things fixed up on there I will be reminding members that if they have suitable photos we can use then we will always welcome them! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I did my honours project on cuckoos. Sort of. They are very cool, although there's something deeply disturbing about a chick not 3 hours old heaving eggs out of the nest. Interestingly, Channel-billed Cuckoos don't do that. Their baby usually outcompetes the host babies, though, and they die of starvation. Maybe heaving eggs out of the nest is not so bad after all. Another interesting thing, Australian Koels are parasitic, but Asian Koels are not. Well, I think that's interesting. Pheasant Coucals are in the cuckoo family, but they are the only non-parasitic member in Australia. Roadrunners are also a cuckoo (non-parasitic). My honours supervisor found that fairy-wrens can tell when they have a cuckoo baby in the nest and abandon the nest to let the baby cuckoo starve. Sometimes they will build a new nest a metre away from the old one with the cuckoo still begging inside! There's this really neat cuckoo species that parasitises ground-nesting birds in alpine fields in some other country. Predation is so high in this environment that chicks must be silent. The chick of this cuckoo species has pretend gapes.. in its armpits, I think. When the host parents come to the nest, it opens up its mouth and then spreads its wings slightly and the parent sees three gapes instead of one and this leads to the hosts bringing more food to the cuckoo. Cuckoo-host interactions are some of the most fascinating evolutionary arms races in nature. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 (edited) , Edited October 16, 2009 by Ripley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBL Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I did my honours project on cuckoos. Sort of. They are very cool, although there's something deeply disturbing about a chick not 3 hours old heaving eggs out of the nest. Interestingly, Channel-billed Cuckoos don't do that. Their baby usually outcompetes the host babies, though, and they die of starvation. Maybe heaving eggs out of the nest is not so bad after all. Another interesting thing, Australian Koels are parasitic, but Asian Koels are not. Well, I think that's interesting. Pheasant Coucals are in the cuckoo family, but they are the only non-parasitic member in Australia. Roadrunners are also a cuckoo (non-parasitic). My honours supervisor found that fairy-wrens can tell when they have a cuckoo baby in the nest and abandon the nest to let the baby cuckoo starve. Sometimes they will build a new nest a metre away from the old one with the cuckoo still begging inside! There's this really neat cuckoo species that parasitises ground-nesting birds in alpine fields in some other country. Predation is so high in this environment that chicks must be silent. The chick of this cuckoo species has pretend gapes.. in its armpits, I think. When the host parents come to the nest, it opens up its mouth and then spreads its wings slightly and the parent sees three gapes instead of one and this leads to the hosts bringing more food to the cuckoo. Cuckoo-host interactions are some of the most fascinating evolutionary arms races in nature. That internal drive to turf other eggs out is just fascinating isn't it! I also love the cuckoo - fairy-wren arms race that is happening now, just amazing... Great photo Ripley I always wonder what must go through the mind of an adult trying to feed a baby that is growing larger than they are Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ripley Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 (edited) I am pretty sure the baby here is a koel after googling your site. It would make sense. The male appears around Sept each year, I spotted the baby in December. His parents were dashing across the road and getting insects for their monster adopted baby. I wish I had more time to photograph him but he flew off when he spotted me (I also had my dog with me at the time!). If the weather fines up this weekend, I'll take a stroll around the neighbourhood. I have a 300mm lens now so might stalk this adult male hanging around my street. eta: I read that the juvenile koel makes the long flight back to Asia later on, when it is old enough. How fascinating. How does it know to fly that way? There is no parent to teach it. Aren't birds amazing. Edited October 9, 2009 by Ripley Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBL Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 I am pretty sure the baby here is a koel after googling your site. It would make sense. The male appears around Sept each year, I spotted the baby in December. His parents were dashing across the road and getting insects for their monster adopted baby. I wish I had more time to photograph him but he flew off when he spotted me (I also had my dog with me at the time!). If the weather fines up this weekend, I'll take a stroll around the neighbourhood. I have a 300mm lens now so might stalk this adult male hanging around my street. eta: I read that the juvenile koel makes the long flight back to Asia later on, when it is old enough. How fascinating. How does it know to fly that way? There is no parent to teach it. Aren't birds amazing. Yep thats definitely a baby koel The inbuilt knowledge that they must have is amazing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
corvus Posted October 9, 2009 Share Posted October 9, 2009 Our Wattlebirds raised a Koel chick last year. I was ready to shoot that thing. It begged from sun up to sun down without stopping. I'm hoping they don't get nailed again this year. Someone else can have the Koel baby in their yard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted October 11, 2009 Author Share Posted October 11, 2009 RIP little cuckoo ;) . Bloody cat from over the road got him this morning. I just found his feathers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kirislin Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CBL Posted October 11, 2009 Share Posted October 11, 2009 RIP little cuckoo . Bloody cat from over the road got him this morning. I just found his feathers Thats terrible to hear Vickie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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