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Curlews - What Are They?
Scientific name: Burhinus grallarius
About 54 to 59 cm in length, an 82 to 105 cm wingspan. Weight, male 670 g and female 625 g. Long legs, cryptic plumage, forehead buff, white chin and throat, crown nape and hind neck, grey and finely streaked blackish, large yellow eyes, thin white eye ring, black eye stripe through neck, upper parts have black streaking over a grey - brown, while under parts are buff - white. Bill black. Legs vary from cream to olive buff. There is a grey and rufous morph. The grey morph is described above. The rufous morph is found in Northern Australia. The rufous morph has boldly streaked rufous brown upper parts. Neck browner, forehead rufous brown, breasts, flanks and upper belly rufous brown.
A ground dwelling bird liking lightly timbered open forests and woodland. Records show swampy paddocks, mangroves and salt marshes heavily timbered areas but may roost at fringes. Some typical areas in the Redlands Shire were it is found are the Bay islands and southern areas of the Shire. Recreational areas, farmland and institutional grounds; particularly if there is adjacent or on site wooded areas. Can be found near and around households. Some have become quite accustomed to human presence and in some instances take advantage of hand feeding or unguarded pet food.
Victoria Point, Redland Bay, Alexandra Hills, Macleay Island, Coochiemudloo Island, North Stradbroke Island, Peel Island, Russel Island, Karragarra Island, Thornlands, Ormiston and Cleveland.
They are breeding readily in the Shire, usually from June to December. Nesting sites are known in Victoria Point, Redland Bay, Macleay Island, North Stradbroke Island, Alexandra Hills, Coochiemudloo Island and Cleveland. Nests are built on the ground. They are nothing more than a piece of ground that has had the leaf litter scraped away. Sometimes on bare ground or amongst stones, often under trees. Eggs are rounded oval to elongate oval, with colour varying with surrounds. The clutch size is usually two. Interval between broods has been estimated to be between 63 - 65 days and also 103 - 134 days.
Mainly insects, molluscs, spiders, frogs and lizards. We have observations of dog and cat food being exploited, as have human handouts.
Loss of habitat and natural food sources, unsupervised domestic pets, foxes, lawn mowers, unwary walkers in parks. What can you do? If you see a cat or dog nearby, warn the owner or if no owner, chase the animal away. If the nest is in a park or well walked area, try to protect the nest site with a brightly coloured tape and advise the Conservation Branch of the Redland Shire Council.
Found singly, pairs, families (1 - 3 young), or in small flocks. Usually shy but there is plenty of evidence from observers of birds becoming quite tame around human habitation. Feeding is generally done alone except when one adult is feeding with young. They are monogamous and are together for the year and probably pair for life. Both birds are involved in incubation, defence and raising of young. Female will generally incubate during the day, while the male does the night shift. Breeding birds feed near nest but some recorded observations have shown off duty birds to stay 0.4 - 1.6 km away. Movement away maybe related to depleted food sources.
Sedentary when breeding, however, there may be local movement after breeding. There are records of birds congregating into small flocks after breeding. These flocks may roam over 100 km^2 , however we have yet no records of curlews forming flocks in the Redlands.
They make eerie wailing calls at night. This is often heard when two or more birds come together at territory boundaries. Birds have been heard to make whistling sounds when seen in small flocks. Other calls include shrieks, growls, gurgles, clucks and chuckles. Whistles have been heard when summoning chicks, while soft gurgle sounds have been noted to have been made by male in warning a female of an approaching observer. Some birds have made a hissing sound when humans have approached too closely.
One of the obvious characteristics of the Bush Curlew is that they are dedicated parents. Both male and female share in the duties of raising young, taking turns to incubate, feed and vigorously defend nest and young. In one case adult Curlews chased off a large python that came too close with apparently little concern for their own safety. Reports also indicate Bush Curlew parents have almost a human like attachment to their young. Take this record for instance: On the hatching of the first egg the parent Curlews were observed to do a dance around the chick, calling loudly and with other local Curlews joining in, as though to announce tile arrival of their chick to the world. This may all seem strange but these dancing antics are well recorded. Whistling concerts, dances and what is described as 'glee parties,' are believed by researchers to be associated with Courtship and pair formation. An interesting observation was made of 12 birds standing in a circle bobbing and bowing; one crouched and called, then half rose and ran off in a crouched stance; others repeated sequence and followed first bird in single file; birds then regrouped with much displaying of wings and calling, performance repeated three times in 10 minutes. Another trait of the Curlew is the creation of small flocks during winter. With the reduction of Curlew numbers such small flocks appear not to be common anymore. However, a recent survey on Lamb Island revealed such an event is still occurring and this may be a good indication of a healthy population on that Island. While adults have their traits the young have their own. One typical habit is the anti-predator response. We have many a photograph of a downy young laying prostrate on the ground with legs tucked under its body and head and neck stretched out. The time to adopt this posture seems to be dictated by the parents. With reports indicating the hiss from a parent bird send young birds into this instant camouflage position. Feeding habits are also interesting. With both adult birds either feeding young birds directly or dropping food in front of the chick. Perhaps the most enjoyable aspect of the Curlew is its ability to tolerate us humans. Many a volunteer have talked about Curlews in their backyard, coexisting happily, occasionally stealing the dog food or venturing into the kitchen. With nearby bush and freedom from cats, it appears only too easy to satisfy their needs. One of the most delightful stories we have heard is of a pair of Curlews that were welcome regular occupants of a safe residential backyard that disappeared for some time. The owners grew concerned, having thought they lost their wildlife friends. However, they awoke one morning lo see the proud parents parading their young in the backyard and later bringing them to the back door. They later led them off into nearby bushland and have occasionally returned lo visit. It almost seems like thank you.
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