In April 2008 I have recorded 63 species of birds in the
catchment area of the Gazette (again the list benefits from a large list of
species reported by an observer in Hoskintown).
Most of the summer migrants have
gone.
Water
birds:
Australasian Grebe; Little Pied Cormorant, Australian Wood duck; Pacific
Black Duck; Grey Teal*
Birds
of prey: Brown Goshawk, Wedge-tailed Eagle,
Brown falcon; Nankeen Kestrel
Parrots
and relatives: Yellow-tailed Black-cockatoo:
Gang-gang Cockatoo; Sulphur-crested Cockatoo; Galah; Crimson Rosella; Eastern
Rosella.
Kingfishers
and other non-songbirds: Common Bronzewing;
Crested Pigeon; Feral Pigeon; Laughing Kookaburra;.
Honeyeaters:,
Brown-headed honeyeater; Eastern spinebill; Yellow-faced Honeyeater;
White-eared Honeyeater; Noisy Miner; Red wattlebird;
Flycatchers
and similar species:
Welcome swallow; Dusky Woodswallow; Grey fantail; Willie Wagtail;
Scarlet Robin; Eastern Yellow Robin,
Golden Whistler; Grey Shrike‑thrush; Magpie-lark,
Other,
smaller, birds: Black-faced
Cuckoo-shrike; Weebill; Brown thornbill; Striated Thornbill; Buff-rumped
Thornbill*; Yellow-rumped Thornbill; White-browed Scrubwren; Superb Fairy-wren;
White-throated Treecreeper; Spotted Pardalote; Striated Pardalote; Silvereye;
Richards Pipit; Double-barred Finch; Red-browed Finch; Diamond Firetail;
Olive-backed Oriole#; Common
Blackbird; House Sparrow; European Goldfinch; Common Starling
Other,
larger, birds: White-winged chough; Pied Currawong;
Grey Currawong, Grey Butcherbird; Australian Magpie; Australian Raven; Little
Raven
Bird of the Month
This is based upon material in the
very good book “bringing birds back” published by Greening Australia. Comments in brackets are by this author.
Grey
Shrike-thrush: Colluricincla harmonica
(Note that this bird is not related to either the thrushes
or shrikes of other continents.)
Appearance: Soft
grey bird with olive‑brown back, full dark eye.
Whitish patch between eyes and bill.
Voice: Rich melodious song especially when breeding
(the name harmonica is well deserved).
In autumn-winetr usually just a single note.
Habits: Singly or pairs. Searches branches, trunks and bark, and the
ground, for food.
Food: Insects,
invertebrates, small reptiles, frogs; mammals, birds and occasionally eggs and
nestlings.
Nest: Large
bowl of bark strips, grass and other material, in sturdy fork of large shrub or
leafy tree.
Occurrence in Revegetation: Recorded in 54% of sites, from as young as 3
years onwards. Found in large and small
sites, occasionally in the narrowest windbreaks.
(Garden Bird Survey: This Survey, run in the gardens
of members of COG, records this bird as fairly common, being observed in about
half the sites each year and usually recorded in at least 1 site nearly all
weeks of each year.)
