Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Squishy start to shining moment

Cuckoos love squishing caterpillars. Little Bronze-Cuckoo (Chalcites minutillus) gets some of the insides outside before tucking it away inside in Tyto yesterday.


Didn't manage to catch less common visitor, Shining Bronze-Cuckoo (Chalcites lucidus), with prey. 


And couldn't capture worthwhile image of Fan-tailed Cuckoo busy in the same patch of cheesewood trees, so above is second shot of Shining, thus turning failure into a shining moment. 
Click pix to enlarge 

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2 comments:

  1. geoff from WarragulJune 24, 2011 at 10:28 AM

    I picked up one of these that crashed into a window in Brisbane earlier this year and wondered which one it was. What do you use to distinguish Shining from Little from Gould's Bronze Cuckoos?
    I thought mine was a Gould's from the pictures but after consulting the maps settled for a Little BC.

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  2. Tyto TonyJune 25, 2011 at 11:34 AM

    Hi Geoff: Shining much greener down back; slightly larger than Gould's (very bronze about neck and back) and LB (paler than G).

    ReplyDelete

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