Wednesday 11 September 2013

Bush Stone Curlew

Last Wednesday I showed you the Australian bird, the Beach Stone Curlew and it might be an idea if you did not see that post to look at it so that you can see the difference between it and today's bird, the Bush Stone Curlew.  At the end of this post, there will be a short video.


The Bush Stone-Curlew or Bush Thick-knee (Burhinus grallarius, obsolete name Burhinus magnirostris) is a large, ground-dwelling bird endemic to Australia. Aussie locals call them thick-knees but proper bird watchers identify as Bush Stone Curlew.  


Although it looks rather like a wader and is related to the Oystercatchers, Avocets and Plovers, it is a terrestrial predator filling a similar ecological niche to the roadrunners of North America. 







Perhaps you can now see why they are called 'thick knee'.


During the day, Bush Stone-curlews tend to remain inactive, sheltering amongst tall grass or low shrubs and relying on their cryptic plumage to protect them from predators. When disturbed, they freeze motionless, often in odd-looking postures. For visual predators like raptors (and humans), this works well, but it serves little purpose with animals that hunt by scent such as foxes, dingoes or goannas.


Look how camouflaged they are.  At first you may only see 2 birds
however there are 3 Bush Stone Curlews.


Like most stone-curlews, it is mainly nocturnal and specialises in hunting small grassland animals: frogs, spiders, insects, crustaceans, snakes, lizards and small mammals are all taken, mostly gleaned or probed from soft soil or rotting wood; also a few seeds or tubers, particularly in drought years. Birds usually forage individually or in pairs over a large home range, particularly on moonlit nights.


Despite their ungainly appearance and habit of freezing motionless, they are sure-footed, fast and agile on the ground, and although they seldom fly during daylight hours, they are far from clumsy in the air; flight is rapid and direct on long, broad wings.


The Bush Stone-curlew is probably heard more than it's seen. Its call sounds like a wail or a scream in the night. When scared, it screeches - a sound similar to the screech of a possum. When threatened (presumably in the presence of a nest), they may raise their wings wide and high in an impressive threat posture and emit a loud, hoarse hissing noise.


Feeding: 

Bush Stone-curlews have a wide-ranging diet, but prefer to feed on insects, small lizards, seeds and occasionally small mammals. Feeding takes place at night. During the breeding season, nesting birds will search for food in the vicinity of the nest site, while at other times, birds may travel large distances. All food is taken from the ground.




Breeding: 

Bush Stone-curlews have a remarkable courtship dance. Individuals stand with their wings outstretched, their tail upright and their neck stretched slightly forward. The birds will stamp their feet up and down, like a soldier marking time. This courtship ritual is repeated for an hour or more at a time and is accompanied by loud and constant calling. Eggs are laid in a shallow scrape in the ground and both adults share the incubation and care for the young.


 I hope you enjoyed reading and seeing the Bush Stone Curlew and can see the difference between it and the Beach Stone Curlew 
I showed you last Wednesday.

The short video can be accessed at

 http://youtu.be/KzkN8iYFvnU

If you see a black space below, click it and the video will appear.

Listen carefully and you will heard the surrounding bird noises.



Thanks for visiting and I hope you will look in again soon.

I am linking this post with Wild Bird Wednesday.

60 comments:

  1. I saw plenty of these on my trip up north, but luckily have even seen them walk past my house on a few nights. Great photos and interesting info!

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    1. HI Christian I am glad you got to see these birds on your trip and thanks for commneting. Glad you enjoyed the information regarding them

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  2. Hi there - hope you dont mind that I linked this up! I have no idea why the button at your end does not work!

    Nice pictures. I got cracking views of this bird on Magnetic Island.

    Cheers - Stewart M

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    1. HI Stewart Many thanks for sorting that out. Guess it must be my end so if that is the case, I hope blogger can sort it out. Glad you have seen this bird. I have friends in Australian adn they live on a banana farm adn are torchered everynight by the screams they make. thanks for comment.

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    1. Hi Neill Many thanks for your comment and I am glad you enjoyed the post.

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  4. They have such large eyes. Part of their nocturnal nature perhaps?
    Great post - and thank you.

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  5. Hi EC Yuor comment reminded me of 'Little Red Riding Hood' when the she says,' What big eyese you have',and he responds, 'all the better to see you with'. Memories coming back to childhood now for me!! Anyway, thanks for your comment and glad you enjoyed it.

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  6. such beautiful photos of the bush-stone curlews Margaret; the way they sit is incredible

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    1. HI Carole Yes I agree. Thanks for your comments and glad you enjoyed the photos

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  7. gosh they are a big bird with such big eyes, you've taken amazing shots and I really enjoyed seeing the video...

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    1. HI Lynn I am glad you enjoyed this post and that will be another bird for your list I think. Thanks for the comment.

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  8. Your photos always inspire me to do better. thanks for sharing..

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    1. Hi That is such a lovely comment and I appreciate it very much. Hope you are enjoyed the posts.

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  9. Hi Margaret,
    Beautiful pictures of the Stone Curlew.
    Beautiful eyes, how they sit on the legs is very special.
    Very well photographed, compliments.
    Greetings Irma

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    1. HI Irma Many thanks for your kind comments and I am glad you enjoyed the post.

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  10. Photos like these make me want to travel to Australia. ;))

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    1. HI EG Boo the flight! Many thanks for your kind comments and I am glad you enjoyed the post.

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  11. such large eyes - the nocturnal nature explains that. :) really neat birds!

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    1. Hi Tex Yes, Hugh eyes. Many thanks for your kind comments and I am glad you enjoyed the birds

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  12. Those eyes.....they look like Predator eyes. I would love to see these birds....and nice shots up close:)

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    1. HI Ch.ris I am glad you liked the post and thanks for comment.

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  13. Terrific looking birds, beautifully photographed!

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    1. Hi Karen You are so kind with your comments and I thanks you for them.

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  14. Thanks for the interesting information and wonderful photos of a bird with which I am not familiar. I learn a lot by visiting you.

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    1. HI George Many thanks for your kind comments and I am delighted that you are learning from my posts. Thats make all the hard work very worthwhile.

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  15. Beautiful birds Margaret and well captured :-)

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  16. Hi David Many thanks for visiting the post and I am delighted you liked it. Many thanks for commenting.

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  17. Neat looking birds. Thanks for posting the images of them out in the field so I could get a sense of scale/size.

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    1. HI CC Glad you liked the post and birds. Thanks for comment

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  18. this is a species I really like. And you have a great set of shots showing them off. Thanks for them.

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    1. Hi NF Many thanks for your comment and I am glad you enjoyed the post.

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  19. Herons also have that knee that bends backwards, it is for wading in the water without disturbing it so the fish don't see them coming. At least that is how it works for the herons. This bird has the biggest eye in relation to it's body that I have seen, except for ostriches and emus.

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  20. Well, I did listen that you have spoken, but what a special bird, I love them, cheers Margaret.

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    1. HI Bob Many thaks for comment and glad you liked this bird.

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  21. Hi Margaret, I love hearing about NEW birds to me. The Bush Stone Curlew is a gorgeous bird --and really does blend into the environment... I loved the video --and hearing to the bird sounds.

    We have a little bird here (Catbird) which has a 'call' that sounds like a cat's meow.....

    Hugs,
    Betsy

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  22. It's amazing how they blend I to the background. Very nice shots!

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  23. Those birds are just gorgeous - and look at those knees! Is that a real toucan in your other header? It is unbelievably beautiful bird.

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    1. Hi CM Glad you enjoyed the birds in this post adn thanks for comment. Yes the Toucan is a real bird. I photographed it when I was in Paraguay.

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  24. Beautiful birds. That must be some dance!

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    1. HI Pattis Yes I would love to see that dance and thanks for comment.

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  25. Beautiful and interesting birds. Their eyes look really big. Nice video too.

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  26. It is a beautiful bird. I love the eyes. Wonderful shots and information. Thanks for sharing, have a great day!

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  27. Great series, and thanks for the video, it was nice to see them in action.

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  28. Oh, my goodness, Margaret. Its EYES are the most impressive thing about this bird to me. They are so large and beautiful! blessings ~ tanna

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  29. my....what big, bright eyes they have!! beautiful, they almost look like a painting!

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  30. Incredible photos Margaret and a great video. What an amazing looking bird!

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  31. Thank you for such an informative article about a really interesting species! Their cryptic plumage serves them well. Superb photographs!

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  32. Great photos! They do blend in quite well.

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  33. HI Gunilla, Eileen, Judy Tanna, Wally and Anne.
    Very many thanks for all your comments and I am glad you all seemed to like this bird with the 'big'eyes and my photos of it.

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  34. You really captured some great pictures of these beautiful birds. The video showed that they really do resemble roadrunners when they are running along the ground. Very interesting.

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    1. HI Linda Thanks you for comment and I am glad you enjoyed the photo and video.

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  35. What an amazing photographer you are. these images are absolutely marvelous, so close in and sharp. Very well done. I enjoyed my visit!
    Sorry for my tardiness. Monday my bad knee gave way to a full Medial Meniscus tear and I am having Arthroscope done to help ease pain this Tuesday...doing life ;)

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  36. HI Mary Many thanks for your very kind comments and I am very glad you enjoyed this post. I am sorry to hear about your knee and I hope that the pain will disappear soon.

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  37. I am starting to get into birding and am really glad I found this blog spot. I am thinking about using wildflower seeds to attract them to my yard. My aunt used that technique and it worked well for her. However, she has been doing it for many years so she may have other techniques she employs.

    http://www.harvestingbeauty.com/special-use-wildflower-seed-mixes.html

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