Don Franklin | Guest Contributor
Australian Swiftlet
“The Australian Swiftlet (Aerodramus terraereginae) forages on the wing in daylight and roosts in colonies in inland and coastal boulder piles, and in inland limestone caves at night. There are no previous records of foliage roosting by this species, or by any member of the Collocaliini. Here, we report five observations of foliage roosting by the Australian Swiftlet” (De Geest & Smyth 2024).
“This article presents breeding data for colonies of the Coastal Australian Swiftlet, Aerodramus terraereginae terraereginae, on the Family Islands, off the coast midway between Townsville and Cairns, Queensland, Australia, obtained on visits to the islands between 2015 and 2022. This information is supplemented by published data going back to 1908 to provide an indication of population trends over a time span of 114 years. While colony sizes appear to have fluctuated significantly from year to year, possibly in response to cyclone impacts, the island populations of this swiftlet have remained fairly stable over the longer term – despite well-documented population declines in their main food source, insects. The breeding season of the island colonies was found to extend from July to April, with some variability between colonies. Peak egg-laying occurred between November and February. We also provide a population estimate for a previously unrecorded Australian Swiftlet colony on nearby Hinchinbrook Island. This colony, which shares its sea cave with a large colony of insectivorous bats, is by far the largest known island colony of the species. Daily timelapse photography on a swiftlet colony on Dunk Island in 2016 and 2017 revealed that up to three sequential clutches, each comprising a single egg, were laid per nest during the breeding season. Incubation of the second and/or third egg by a nearly-fledged older sibling confirmed that sibling incubation, which had previously been observed in the Chillagoe Australian Swiftlet, A. terraereginae chillagoensis, also occurs in the coastal subspecies” (Smyth et al. 2024).
Rainforest Birds
Bowerbirds
“Males [of the Golden Bowerbird] build a maypole type bower, typically adorned with “Old Man’s Beard” lichen Usnea sp. At one bower we found an unusual, reddish-coloured substance attached to the lichen, which appears to be Phaeotremella foliacea, a known fungal parasite of Usnea lichen. We provide photographs of the fungus, and review ornithomycological associations with bowerbirds” (Herrington et al. 2023).
The fossil record of bowerbirds was limited to relatively recent remains of Satin Bowerbirds from caves in Victoria. Nguyen (2023) described a new genus and species of bowerbird from Riversleigh, dated to c. 26-23 million years ago. “This fossil bowerbird is smaller than most extant species of bowerbirds”. In the same study, a second, larger bowerbird was identified from Riversleigh dated to c. 16 million years ago. “The ages of these fossils are consistent with molecular estimates of the divergence time between [bowerbirds] and its sister group, Climacteridae (Australo-Papuan treecreepers).”
Pacific Emerald Dove
As reported elsewhere in Contact Call (https://www.birdlifenq.org/post/pacific-emerald-doves-giving-the-cold-shoulder), Pacific Emerald Doves exposing their white shoulder feathers “functions as a ‘fight or flee’ social signal” (Frith 2024).
Bird Assemblages
In a 25-year old rainforest revegetation corridor on the Atherton Tablelands, Tucker et al. (2024) noted that, compared to the site soon after planting, the bird assemblage was “increasingly similar to adjacent reference forest, although some endemic birds remain absent.” Further, “over 150 naturally regenerating plants were recorded; birds were primarily responsible for seed dispersal.”
Waterbirds & Shorebirds
Wandering Whistling-Duck
At Horseshoe Lagoon in Rinyirru (Lakefield) National Park: “Communal cooperative foraging from the surface of water is here reported for the first time in the Wandering Whistling-Duck Dendrocygna arcuata. Five adult Wandering Whistling-Ducks were observed to form a circle of outwardly facing individuals, using their legs and feet to churn the water beneath them and then to duck-dive into the disturbed water within the circle to forage. Such a specific cooperative foraging technique does not appear to have been previously documented in this or any other species of waterfowl” (Frith & Mason 2024).
Red-necked Phalarope
“The Red-necked Phalarope breeds in the Arctic and Sub-Arctic region and migrates south to equatorial waters to feed at sea during its non-breeding phase. Of the 13 records of this species in Queensland, four were located at Lake Moondarra, Mt. Isa, and two at sea off Weipa in the Gulf of Carpentaria. We report up to three birds seen in three locations at the northern tip of Cape York over 13 days and suggest that their appearance was related to an extreme weather event. We urge birders visiting Queensland in summer to familiarise themselves with the appearance and habits of this species to ensure that it is not overlooked” (Reed & Herrington 2023).
Brolga and Sarus Crane eBird reporting
“eBirders can best support crane research and conservation if they report numbers and use the ‘Crane sp.’ tool for unidentified cranes. In addition, it is important to recognise that a sighting of as few as 50 Sarus Cranes can be nationally significant, and 140 can be globally significant. For Brolgas, the heavily-skewed reporting from a few well-studied, popular sites suggests that they may sometimes be regarded as too common to inspire record-keeping. Due to knowledge gaps on the social structure of Queensland Brolgas, and on major flocking sites, eBirders should be encouraged to be ‘Brolga-conscious’ on their travels. Given the complexity of applying all three 1% threshold methods to determine ‘significant’ sightings, the Queensland Bird Report could adopt one explicit method for assessing Brolga and Sarus Crane records in the bioregions” (Scambler 2022).
Other Birds
Palm Cockatoo
Noting that most drumming by Palm Cockatoos occurs in the Iron-McIlwraith Range area and much less often elsewhere on Cape York Peninsula, Heinsohn & Zdenek (2024) raise the interesting speculation that this drumming might have been learnt from humans.
William McLennan (1882-1935) collected eggs and birds for Dr William MacGillivray, Gregory Mathews and Henry White, many of them on Cape York Peninsula. Mason & Scambler (2024) “attempted to locate most of McLennan’s bird study skins and egg clutches and link them with his diary accounts, to improve the collection location data - which in most cases, is very general on his collection labels”.
Buff-breasted Button-quail
Reinforcing the recent work of Patrick Webster, Olsen et al. (2024) provide a biogeographic basis for arguing that records of Buff-breasted Button-quail south of Cape York Peninsula (i.e. in the Einasleigh Uplands) should be treated with great suspicion and a high bar of proof required of them.
Blue-winged Kookaburra
“The breeding biology of the Blue-winged Kookaburra Dacelo leachii has been well-studied in the Northern Territory (NT) but levels of provisioning to their young across the nestling period have not been documented and there is little relevant information from Queensland. We monitored the complete nest cycle of a pair of Kookaburras on Magnetic Island, North Queensland. Consistent with NT data, incubation and nestling periods were ~25 days and 39 ± 2 days, respectively. Tapping sounds indicated that four eggs hatched. The nestlings were fed relatively evenly throughout daylight hours, in contrast with the NT where they were rarely fed in the afternoon. The provisioning rate peaked during the middle (Days 17–25) of the nestling period. Of 273 nestling food items, 48.4% by number, and 74.9% by estimated volume, comprised reptiles, while 75 items (10.4% by volume) comprised arthropods. The male provided more prey items than the female, especially arthropods, but there was no difference in the daily volume of prey they delivered. Of the three fledglings, one disappeared within a few days of fledging, two remained with the parents for at least six months and one was seen with them 10 months post-fledging. As most Kookaburras in the NT breed in groups with helpers, further studies of the social organisation, breeding behaviour and fledging success of the species in a range of sites in Queensland would be useful” (Scambler & Daly 2023).
References
De Geest P, Smyth D. 2024. Foliage roosting in the Australian Swiftlet (Aerodramus terraereginae) in the Wet Tropics bioregion of Queensland. North Queensland Naturalist 54: 44-47.
Frith CB. 2024. Pacific Emerald Doves Chalcophaps longirostris socially signal with shoulder marking. Australian Field Ornithology 41: 56-58. https://afo.birdlife.org.au/afo/index.php/afo/article/view/2327/2356
Frith CB, Mason A. 2024. Communal cooperative aquatic foraging by Wandering Whistling-Ducks Dendrocygna arcuata. Australian Field Ornithology 41: 4-5. https://afo.birdlife.org.au/afo/index.php/afo/article/view/2316
Heinsohn R, Zdenek C. 2024. Little drummer birds. Australian Birdlife 13(1): 20-25. (Palm Cockatoo)
Herrington DB, Reed RP, Muir B. 2023. Probable fungus on bower decorations of the Golden Bowerbird. Sunbird 50: 9-12. https://birdsqueensland.org.au/sunbird_issues/articles/Vol_50/Herrington_2023_v50_1_9-12.pdf
Mason IJ, Scambler EC. 2024. A Review of Bird Specimens (Eggs Clutches and Study Skins) Collected by William Rae McLennan (1882 - 1935). Version 1.0. Ian J. Mason: Canberra, ACT. https://www.ianmason.online/
Nguyen JMT. 2023. The earliest record of bowerbirds (Passeriformes, Ptilonorhynchidae) from the Oligo-Miocene of northern Australia. Alcheringa 47: 475-483. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03115518.2023.2180537
Olsen P, Schodde, R, Isles A. 2024. Desperately seeking the Buff-breasted Button-quail. Australian Birdlife 13(1): 36-39.
Reed RP, Herrington DB. 2023. Red-necked Phalaropes on the northern tip of Cape York and a review of Queensland sightings. Sunbird 50: 13-18. https://birdsqueensland.org.au/sunbird_issues/articles/Vol_50/Reed_2023_v50_1_13-18.pdf
Scambler EC. 2022. 2. Research update: Australian Sarus Cranes Antigone a. gillae and Brolgas A. rubicunda. Sunbird 49: 172-180. https://birdsqueensland.org.au/sunbird_issues/articles/Vol_49/Scambler_2022_v49_2_172-180.pdf
Scambler EC, Daly PJ. 2023. Breeding behaviour and nestling diet of Blue-winged Kookaburras Dacelo leachii on Magnetic Island, North Queensland. Sunbird 50: 24-37. https://birdsqueensland.org.au/sunbird_issues/articles/Vol_50/Scambler_2023_v50_1_24-37.pdf
Smyth D, Andy L, Blair D, Grindrod J, Rassip W, Pearson R. 2024. Swiftlet Isles Revisited: Population trends and sibling incubation in colonies of the Australian Swiftlet, Aerodramus terraereginae terraereginae, on North Queensland Islands. North Queensland Naturalist 54: 48-68. https://www.nqnat.org/_files/ugd/003377_39234057fcbb417f9883a3c7216cdd7a.pdf
Tucker NIJ, Freeman AND, Marshall TJ. 2024. Structural and functional connectivity in a 25-year old restored wildlife corridor - an example from the upland Wet Tropics of north-eastern Australia. North Queensland Naturalist 54: 69-78. https://www.nqnat.org/_files/ugd/570194_b31af90f21e1407285bac64177c4aa86.pdf