What's this feathered fellar?
Submitted: Wednesday, Jun 27, 2012 at 09:07
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Bob Y. - Qld
This bloke came into my shed yesterday arvo, while i was grinding, welding & cutting, and stayed for an hour or so. Didn't seem too upset about the activity, though he kept up in the mezza......bugger it, the loft, most of the time.
As our bird books are STILL packed away, need some guidance to indentify him please. He lives in
Winton Qld area, of course. Re photo No.1, I'm not a closet drinker, lol. It all belongs to local race club.
Image Could Not Be Found
Image Could Not Be Found
Thank you,
Bob.
Reply By: RodnSue - Wednesday, Jun 27, 2012 at 10:24
Wednesday, Jun 27, 2012 at 10:24
Hi Bob
I think it is a Fan-tailed Cuckoo..... could also be the Brush Cuckoo, but going by your
pic, there's yellow around her eye & the cinnamon / buff colouring extends more towards her neck.
I say her / female as in the male the cinnamon / buff colouring extends further down past the breast, where the female is
grey is this area.
But I could be wrong :-)
Going by 2 of my references.. Pizzey & Knight "Birds of Australia" & Michael Morcombe's "eGuide to Australian Birds" (app on my iphone) you are on the border of this bird being in your area, but travelling NT & WA last year from Bris, I found many birds extending beyond the areas mentioned in the references.
( The reference on my iphone has bird calls & was wonderful in identifying birds, rather than flicking through pages of books to find it. It also has a smart search section)
hope this helps
Sue
AnswerID:
489506
Follow Up By: Bob Y. - Qld - Wednesday, Jun 27, 2012 at 20:31
Wednesday, Jun 27, 2012 at 20:31
Thanks for the follow-up, Sue.
We'll take it as being a Cuckoo, they're not a bird I'm familiar with. Will have to dig out our bird books one day, though do have "birds in backyards" in my favourites. Had just forgotten it was there.
She also had speckled markings on her tail, which I forgot to mention in original thread. Looks like I'll have to weaken and get a smart phone, with the vast variety of apps available these days.
Thanks again,
Bob.
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Follow Up By: RodnSue - Thursday, Jun 28, 2012 at 08:51
Thursday, Jun 28, 2012 at 08:51
Hi Bob,
you're welcome, glad to help. The Cuckoo birds have distinctive barring on the underside of their tail feathers - except the much larger Channel - billed Cuckoo.
As far as I know the app is only compatible with 'apple' products :-(..... iTouch or iPhone. Cost is about $32...... but it has as much content as a bird book. Worth every cent though.
If you already have a great phone you don't want to give up, an iTouch is a cheaper alternative to the iPhone. I bought the app from iTunes.
The 'smart' phone is not always that 'smart' in remote areas & I changed back to my old Samsung flip phone for our outback travelling as it picked up service where the iphone wouldn't :-(
I just had to carry 2 phones in my pockets for the remote areas :-(
Carrying just a phone on bush walks was so much more convenient than taking notes for ID of a bird (which then ended up being inadequate.)
Most ID's were finalized when I could compare the voice calls.
I had lots of fun with it & hope you do if you decide to get it also :-)
cheers
Sue
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