new bird call heard for last two weeks, but very elusive - lovely chattering, almost parrot-like. finally spotted it yesterday and this was the best of about 40 shots - had to use zoom and i can't hold camera still enough these day. Bird is approx 30cm long and has orange beak. Am on Limestone Coast of SA.
Help please :)
Looks like an olive backed oriole.
But the location says maybe not.
Cheers Beef
thank you for your kind reply - it is very very similair, but much more yellow around throat ...it seems to sit in eucalypts rather than wattles and I haven't seen it feed, whereas the honey-eaters seem to be always feeding or fighting...
although looking through my dodgy pics i retract the yellow throat - birdie seems to have red eyes?
actually the more i look the more convinced i am that you're right. although i haven't heard it make the 'oriole' call, it may have been impersonating the parrots - i think the fact that it can 'throw its voice' is the final proof, because it was so hard to find and i could never see it fly out of the tree i thought it was in, even though it started calling from somewhere else. how exciting - fisrt year they've been here (it's a pair) we are just withing their known range i think. thank you so much for putting me on the right track
Location looks OK to me. I used to see this species very occasionally when I lived in Adelaide's south east back in the day.
thank you for reply - there are two things that make me doubt - this bird has bright yellow patches on both sides of its neck and it sounds much like a parrot when chattering and does a double call ...
I would definately agree with olive-backed oriole, and they certainly can be hard to locate. They have been seen in your area although records are few, so it may be a fairly notable sighting, especially considering that this is probably the time of the year when they are less likely to be seen down south
Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera
Interesting sighting, definitely an Olive-backed Oriole.
At the end of last summer, in the Boolarra State Forest, Gippsland I saw a bird that I couldn't identify until I eventually saw it through binoculars, it was an Olive Backed Oriole.
The red/orange beak helped me with the identification. It seemed very elusive and difficult to get near compared to other birds I see in this location.
I believe Olive -backed Orioles are good mimics so that might explain the parrot-like call.
Thank you for replying - yes, i read that too - but i would expect them to also use their own 'oriole' call too. Hubby has a theory that it's because they've just arrived and they are keeping a low profile - blending in. Wouldn't surprise me - from the range of their vocalisations i feel they are quite a smart birdy. Certainly gave me the run around :)
have a sound recording of oriole -don't know how to attach it?
Your husband's hypothesis is very interesting, Termite.
it almost sounds like a cross between a parrot and a currawong (whose 'tweet tweet'' Ive always felt rather embarrassing for such a large bird)
if i knew how to attach the sound file ...
Now that we have a ID for the bird, maybe you might want to upload it onto xeno-canto, which I find is a great resourse for bird calls. Than you could put the link on here too
Ryu
Canberra
Aiming for DSLR-quality shots with a bridge camera
thank you, looks complicated at first glance, will give it a try
hopefully this will take you to bird call -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/133364347@N03/shares/8G972i
Hi Termite,
that is atypical OB Oriole call, whis described in some of the guides as a "sneeze". It might be saving its more traditional call to when the weather warm up.
tim
How marvellous - thank you so much
now I will smile at every sneeze (well it is winter!) Hope they hang around for a while.
Olive-backed Oriole. I get dozens out near Nepean Weir in Penrith regularly and they do chatter about lots. Some of their normal vocalization is chattery, like a parrot. Otherwise they have a very unique call.