Bain, D. and McPhee, N. (2005). Reserves of the Eastern Bristlebird Dasyornis brachypterus in central-eastern New South Wales 1999-2001: their relationship with fire and observer competence. Corella 29: 1-6. (Institute for Conservation Biology, Department of Biological Sciences, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, NSW 2522, Australia; email <dwb01 AT uow DOT edu DOT au>)

The endangered Eastern Bristlebird Dasyornis brachypterus is found in a number of small isolated populations along the east coast of Australia. Presently little is known about the status and viability of many of these populations. Surveys for Eastern Bristlebirds were conducted at Red Rocks Nature Reserve, around Jervis Bay near Huskisson and on Beecroft Peninsula, and at Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park in south-eastern New South Wales to compare these data with historical records and to investigate more recent unconfirmed sightings of the species. Eastern Bristlebirds were resurveyed at Barren Grounds Nature Reserve, using the same sites as a previous long-term study from 1992 to 1998, to improve understanding of population density changes following fire. Among the sites of historical or unconfirmed records, ten Eastern Bristlebirds were found at Red Rocks Nature Reserve and four near Huskisson. None were found at either Beecroft Peninsula or Ku-ring-gai Chase National Park. At Barren Grounds Nature Reserve densities varied among sites of different post-fire age, ranging from 0.67 birds per 5 hectare in vegetation with the youngest fire-age of seven years to 1.6 birds per 5 hectare in vegetation with a fire-age of 19 years. For each site, the density was from 24 per cent to 60 per cent lower than in the 1992-98 study. We conclude that the consistency of these differences indicates differences in observer experience and training rather than a real decline in bird densities in these sites, and suggest that this factor should be taken into account in interpreting the results of long-term bird studies that rely on data from different observers.

Robertson, B.C. (2005). Reproductive anatomy of the strictly monogamous Capricorn Silvereye Zosterops lateralis chlorocephalus. Corella 29: 7-8. (School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, PB 4800, Christchurch, New Zealand; email <bruce DOT robertson AT canterbury DOT ac DOT nz)

Anatomy of male and female comparable with similar-sized species that show low rates of extra-pair-paternity, hence low sperm competition.

O'Connor, D.E. (2005). Foraging success by the Laughing Kookaburra Dacelo novaeguineae in a suburban habitat. Corella 29: 9-10. (Biological Sciences A08, University of Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia; email <doconnor AT biousyd DOT edu DOT au)

Almost 60% success rate with data given for habitat and for prey size.

Weston, M.A. (2005). A sex-specific display in the sexually monomorphic Hooded Plover Thinornis rubricollis. Corella 29: 11-12. (Birds Australia, Research and Conservation Department, 415 Riversdale Road, East Hawthorn, Vic. 3123, Australia).

Tail-bobbing, wing-flicking, rotating and jumping sideways performed usually by males, but sample size low.

Recher, H.F. and Davis,W.E. Jr. (2005). A record of interspecific kleptoparasitism by an Australian passerine, the Black-faced Woodswallow Artamus cinereus. Corella 29: 13-14. (School of Natural Sciences, Edith Cowan University, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia).

Black-faced Woodswallows opportunistically stole lepidopteran larvae from ground-foraging Crimson Chats while associated with mixed-species foraging flock.

Debus, S.J.S., Ford. J.A. and Rose, A.B. (2005). Breeding-season diet of a pair of Barking Owls near Armidale, New South Wales. Corella 29: 15-16. (Division of Zoology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia).

For Ninox connivens in 2003, the spring sample was dominated by mammals whereas the summer sample was dominated by insects. Birds dominated the 2004 spring sample suggesting a shortage of mammalian prey.

Munro, U. and McFadden M. (2005). Moult in captive Regent Honeyeaters Xanthomyza phrygia. Corella 29: 17-18. (Department of Environmental Sciences, University of Technology, Sydney, P.O. Box 123, Broadway, NSW 2007; email <Ursula DOT Munro AT uts DOT edu DOT au>).

Primary replacement progresses outwards while secondaries are progressing inwards, after tertials and rectrices have been replaced. Active moult continued until early April. Immatures undergo partial moult which may b influenced by hatching date.

Debus, S.J.S. and Rose, A.B. (2005). Spring diet of Pied Currawongs at Imbota Nature Reserve, Armidale, New South Wales. Corella 29: 19-21. (Division of Zoology, University of New England, Armidale, NSW 2351, Australia).

The diet of Pied Currawongs Strepera graculina in eucalypt woodland near Armidale, New South Wales, was studied by analysis of stomach contents of 21 birds collected in October-December 2002. Adult pairs, and replacement currawongs in those territories, were collected before they had active nests. The currawongs' diet consisted predominantly of arthropods (97% by number): mainly beetles (36% by number, 95% of stomachs), large ants (48% by number, 62% of stomachs) and dragonflies (7% by number, 14% of stomachs), with lesser quantities of other arthropods and some fruit and leaf material (n = 188 food items). No vertebrates or bird eggshell were found in the stomachs. Incidental observations were made of currawongs feeding on a small free-flying bird, a microchiropteran bat, and a tree-frog.

Cleere, N. (2005). An example of melanistic plumage in the Tawny Frogmouth Podargus strigoides. Corella 29: 22. (Bird Group, Department of Zoology, The Natural History Museum, Tring, Herts. HP23 6AP, U.K.; email <cleere AT churr DOT freeserve DOT co DOY uk).

First known melanistic morph is a skin in the National Museums of Scotland, Edinburgh.

Frith, C.B. & Frith, D.W. (2005). A long-term banding study in upland tropical rainforest, Paluma Range, north-eastern Quensland with notes on breeding. Corella 29: 25-48. ('Prionodura' P.O. Box 581, Malanda, Qld. 4885, Australia).

This study is the result of a 20-year bird banding project in upland rainforest on the Paluma Range, north-eastern Queensland. During the first 13 years (1978-91) banding was carried out every year but thereafter only during 1995 and 1997, mist-netting being largely (74% of total netting hours) carried out during the first three seasons. Results provide the first long-term information on birds living in Australian upland rainforests, with emphasis on species endemic to the wet tropics or Atherton Region. Species banded were primarily those that forage within the forest subcanopy, understorey, or on the ground. Peak breeding extends from late August or September to December or early January when temperatures and rainfall increase and relatively more food (fruits, flying insects and leaf litter invertebrates) is available. Wing flight feather (primaries and secondaries including the tertials) and tail moult mostly occurs during late November-March, with peaks during January-March (i.e. after breeding activity has declined and wet season rains have started).

Data are presented on biometrics plumages, soft part colours, characters for ageing and sexing, breeding, moult, survival, longevity, territoriality, site fidelity of individual birds and seasonal movements. Seasonal and annual variation in capture rates are given and recapture data presented for most frequently captured individuals.

Wooller, R.D., Bradley J.S. & Powell C.D.L. (2005). Plumage dimorphism in Wedge-tailed Shearwaters Puffinus pacificus in Shark Bay, Western Australia. Corella 29: 49-50. (School of Biological Sciences and Biotechnology, Murdoch University, WA 6150, Australia).

Although many Wedge-tailed Shearwaters Puffinus pacificus in northern hemisphere populations have white underparts, almost all members of this species around Australia have uniformly blackish-brown plumage. The exception is Wedge-tailed Shearwaters on islands in Shark Bay, on the central coast of Western Australia, where in 1972 about 20 per cent of an estimated 600 pairs had white breasts. We visited these islands in December 1997 and February 1998 and estimated both the overall population size and proportion of white-phase individuals as unchanged after 25 years. White-phase Wedge-tailed Shearwaters are unknown at much larger colonies north and south of Shark Bay and only recorded at sea within a 200-300 kilometre radius of Shark Bay. This unusual, isolated population and its plumage dimorphism appear stable, but would repay further investigation.

McLean, I.G., Recher H.F.*, Studholme B.J.S., Given A. & Duncan C. (2005). Breeding success and timing of nesting by forest birds on northern tablelands of New South Wales, Australia. Corella 29:53-62.(* PO Box 154, Brooklyn, NSW 2083, Australia; email <hjrecher AT pacific DOT net DOT au>)

The pattern and timing of nesting by 57 bird species in open eucalypt Eucalyptus forest on the northern tablelands of New South Wales (30"30'S, 151"40'E; 990-1390 m amsl) were studied in the breeding seasons of 1988-1992, 1994, and 1996. The first nests were initiated in mid-July with numbers increasing through August. Nest initiation peaked in early September and again in mid to late October, but declined rapidly in November. Few birds initiated nests in December and no new nests were found after December. From 1988 to 1992, 29 per cent of open-nests fledged young; 70 per cent of nests that failed were predated, two (3%) were lost due to storms and the remainder were abandoned without laying. Weather conditions affected the number and species of birds nesting, the time nests were initiated, and success at fledging young. 1994 had a dry autumn-spring with catastrophic rain, hail and wind storms in late October and early November. 1996 had above average rainfall without climatic extremes during the nesting season. Of the 49 species for which data are available, 18 had failed to breed by the end of November 1994, whereas in 1996 all but three species had initiated nesting by this time. Environmental factors influenced each species uniquely. Of the 28 species that bred in both years, 15 showed similar timing, while 13 differed in timing by 2-8 weeks, 10 of which started later in 1994 and three earlier. Largely due to poor weather and the lack of rain, only 29 per cent of nests (both open- and hole-nests) in 1994 succeeded in fledging young compared with 41 percent in 1996 when predation rates on nests appeared higher, but weather conditions were more favourable.

Fulton, G.R. (2005). Dusky Woodswallows Artamus cyanopterus collaborate to kleptoparasitize a Restless Flycatcher Myiagra inquieta. Corella 29: 63-64. (School of Natural Sciences, Centre for Ecosystems Management, Edith Cowan University, 100 Joondalup Drive, Joondalup, WA 6027, Australia; email <grahamf2001 AT yahoo DOT com DOT au>).

Kleptoparasitism in birds is typically considered the piracy of food from one bird by another. This is an account of collaborative kleptoparasitic attacks by Dusky Woodswallows Artamus cyanopterus on a Restless Flycatcher Myiagra inquieta. The two woodswallows worked collaboratively to steal arthropod prey from the flycatcher with one woodswallow feeding the other with the stolen prey. The repetition of this collaborative behaviour indicates that the woodswallows targeted the flycatcher in a systematic theft and not simply as an opportunistic hunting or stealing attack.

Dobbs, K.A. (2005). Recoveries of Seabirds banded between 1978 and 1987 at Raine Island, MacLennan and Moulter Cays and Sandbanks No. 7 and 8, Northern Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Corella 29: 65-72. (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, P.O. Box 1379, Townsville, Qld. 4810, Australia)

From 1979 to 1987, 7 080 birds, representing 17 species, were banded at Raine Island, and from 1979 to 1985, 849 birds, representing 3 species, were banded at Moulter Cay, MacLennan Cay, Sandbank No. 7 and Sandbank No. 8. Almost half (45.5%, n = 3 609) of the 7 929 birds were banded as adults; 20.6 per cent (n =1634) were as chicks, 15 per cent (n = 1 223) as pullus and 11 per cent (n = 881) as juveniles. Of the 7 929 banded birds, 1 096 (14%) were recaptured in subsequent surveys to the banding locations; 107 (1%) birds were recaptured away from their banding locations. Distances travelled ranged from 100 kilometres (Wallace Island) to 4000 kilometres (Tuvalu); countries included: Australia (12), Caroline Islands (1), Indonesia (2), Kiribati (1), Papua New Guinea (87), Solomon Islands (2), and Tuvalu (2). The fates of the 107 birds recovered away from these banding locations were: 22 captured and released alive, 26 dead, 4 entangled in fishing line or hooks, 4 predated by: crocodiles (2). eagle (1) or large fish (1); 25 trapped for food, captivity or ceremonial purposes, and 26 unknown.

 

Leslie, D. (2005). Is the Superb Parrot Polytelis swainsonii population in Cuba State Forest limited by hollow or food availability? Corella 29: 77-87. (Forests NSW, 315 Victoria Street, Deniliquin, NSW 2719, Australia).

 

The Superb Parrot Polytelis swainsonii is listed in threatened species legislation at State and National levels. As it is an obligate hollow nester, harvesting of River Red Gum Eucalyptus camaldulensis in south-eastern Australia has led to concern over the maintenance of their nest trees. While the availability of hollows is undoubtedly a critical factor in the conservation biology of the Superb Parrot, it is not known whether their recovery is limited by the hollow resource. Timber harvesting is shown to be capable of removing a variable proportion of Superb Parrot nest trees in Cuba State Forest, but the risk to nest trees is minimized by applying harvest plan prescriptions that aim to perpetuate the hollow resource. Consideration of the spatial organization of Superb Parrot nest trees in relation to the hollow resource and extant woodland vegetation indicates that food availability during the breeding season is likely to be a factor regulating population size. Research is required to test the relationship between the reproductive success of Superb Parrots and the area, quality and connectivity of woodland vegetation within their foraging range.

 

Stock, M.J. & C.H. Wild. (2005). Seasonal variation in Glossy Black-Cockatoo Calyptorhynchus lathami sightings on the Gold Coast, Queensland. Corella 29: 88-90. (School of Environmental and Applied Sciences, Gold Coast Campus, Griffith University, PMB 50 Gold Coast Mail Centre, Qld. 9726, Australia; email: <m DOT stock AT griffith DOT edu DOT au>).

Clancy, G.P. (2005). Feeding behaviour of the Osprey Pandion haliaetus on the north coast of New South Wales. Corella 29: 91-96. (P.O. Box 63, Coutts Crossing, NSW 2460, Australia; email: <gclancy AT tpg DOT com DOT au>).

 

The feeding behaviour of the Osprey Pandion haliaetus was studied at feeding grounds, feeding perches and nests in the Clarence Valley, north-east New South Wales, from 1991 to 1996. Foraging behaviour was found to be similar to that of Northern Hemisphere birds. Although birds were found to take mostly living fish, one record of passible scavenging was made. The male Osprey was the main provider during the breeding season, bringing food to the nest for the female and nestlings. Details of hunting, delivery of food to the nest area, eating behaviour, courtship feeding, food solicitation, and interspecific competition are presented.

 

 

Olsen, J. & S.J.S. Debus. (2005). A comment on some errors in the literature regarding Australian Owls. Corella 29: 97-98. (Applied Ecology Research Group, University of Canberra, ACT 2601, Australia).

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