Buttonquails are annoying birds in the wild. Or so I thought. During the day you can almost step on them, then they flush and fly only 10 or so metres away and then scurry off along the ground, well away from where you saw them land. I have had this experience on many occasions. The only way to tell what you just saw and I.D. them is if they call after landing. Last week I saw and heard Red-chested Buttonquail. After discussions with a friend, we decided to head out spotlighting over the weekend. There is a stark difference in their behaviour from day to night.
After the excitement of the spotlighting, I was in for a few more treats over the weekend. After many overhead noisy flights, one male Cockatiel decided to check out mybackyard. It was hard not to notice he was there, constantly calling. I love these birds, strikingly patterned on their faces.
Next was a Black-faced Cuckooshrike. There have been a small family of these flying around the neighborhood and occasionally they sit in the large gum, normally up high, but this one came in for a closer look.
While the Cuckooshrike and Cockatiel were hanging around, I had a third visitor, although this one was up high in the gum. I watched as the Pied Butcherbird listened and then found the cicada. All the White-plumed Honeyeaters were sounding tempered alarm calls, but I was thinking, "if you get rid of a few cicadas from the tree mate, go right ahead". The cicadas have been very noisy. The butcherbird managed to get rid of this one.
Although we didn't manage to see the Red-chested, we did stumble across a number of Little Buttonquail. They might fly when flushed, but not 10 metres, normally under 5 metres, and easy to follow with a torch. Then they just sat in that spot. A very different night time experience, allowing for (finally) some photos of Little Buttonquails in the wild.
Little Buttonquail
After the excitement of the spotlighting, I was in for a few more treats over the weekend. After many overhead noisy flights, one male Cockatiel decided to check out mybackyard. It was hard not to notice he was there, constantly calling. I love these birds, strikingly patterned on their faces.
Cockatiel
Next was a Black-faced Cuckooshrike. There have been a small family of these flying around the neighborhood and occasionally they sit in the large gum, normally up high, but this one came in for a closer look.
Black-faced Cuckooshrike
While the Cuckooshrike and Cockatiel were hanging around, I had a third visitor, although this one was up high in the gum. I watched as the Pied Butcherbird listened and then found the cicada. All the White-plumed Honeyeaters were sounding tempered alarm calls, but I was thinking, "if you get rid of a few cicadas from the tree mate, go right ahead". The cicadas have been very noisy. The butcherbird managed to get rid of this one.
Pied Butcherbird
An enjoyable post. It's interesting about the button-quail.
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