Bird ID please

Mike Harding · Guru

Bird ID please

EJP · Senior Member

Mike, could be either grey or pied currawongs. The pied currawong is black with white markings on the wings and tail and the grey currawong is gray with white markings. They can look like crows from a distance and both habide in open forest, woodland, scrub etc. I tried to post photos but couldn't.

EJP · Senior Member

The pied currawong's call is noisy, distinctive ringing, a double call 'curra-wong'. The gray currawong's call is ringing, clinking, bell like repeated 'chimes'. Hope this helps.

oldbloke · Guru

EJP wrote:
Mike, could be either grey or pied currawongs. The pied currawong is black with white markings on the wings and tail and the grey currawong is gray with white markings. They can look like crows from a distance and both habide in open forest, woodland, scrub etc. I tried to post photos but couldn't.

Could be them.

Or

Coughs. (Spelling) black, crow sized usually in a flock. They have distinctive red eyes.

EJP · Senior Member

Could be Oldbloke. White Winged Chough. Slightly larger than the currawongs, approx 45 cm, the habitat and colouring could suit. Dusty black, faintly iridescent body plumage, large white circles on both sides of wings, long broad tail, juveniles can have a brownish tinge to the head and neck, immature birds have a faintly browner plumage. Imformation from Simpson and Day Field Guide to the Birds of Australia.

oldbloke · Guru

EJP,
You do know your birds.

Bicyclecamper · Guru

They are Chuffs (or Choughs), very friendly bird, come in my yard all the time here in Bundarra. They started coming to our area 10 years ago again after an hiatus of nearly 20 years. Don't know where the went to during that break. I love them, but they are slow to get off the road, hence we both drive around our area no more the 80kmph, because of them.

-- Edited by Bicyclecamper on Wednesday 1st of December 2021 09:40:25 PM

STRETCH ARMSTRONG · Senior Member

Currawong, very common this time of year in dry forests/Goldfields.

Mike Harding · Guru

Thanks guys.

Definitely not choughs, there are many choughs around here and I'm well familiar with them additionally these birds were much larger.

I reckon (wait for the howls of "No!" :) ) they were black currawongs. I know the books say Tas only but maybe this flock can't read?

And just to make you jealous; what I do have around here is some orange bellied parrots - last year there was a flock of around 30 and this past week I've noticed three or four have turned up again.

SoloMC · Senior Member

Mike
Ive got several bird id apps but the easiest to use is Merlin. Give it a go
Failing that send photos to the Australian museum for id

STRETCH ARMSTRONG · Senior Member

All the pied currawong l seen are yellow eye, black body and a small patch of white on their back under their folded wings. Sometimes a small bit of white on tail. The photos online that l've seen for pied currawong have way to much white on them in my experience.

oldbloke · Guru

"And just to make you jealous; what I do have around here is some orange bellied parrots - last year there was a flock of around 30 and this past week I've noticed three or four have turned up again."

But aren't you up on the Murray rvr.?

Can you identify them by their sound?

Mike Harding · Guru

No, I'm a few hundred kilometres south of the Murray in a secret spot I discovered about 18 months past.

The OBPs are readily identifiable visibly, indeed it was a friend staying with me last year who first noticed them, she's a bit of a bird person and we both agreed after much observation and study of books/apps that they were OBPs.

SoloMc:

Thanks for the reference to Merlin, I have downloaded it and will give it a go. I've been using "A Field Guide to Victorian Fauna" which covers more species and is pretty good.