Some Of Those On This List
Among the grasses and fields:
Buff Banded Rails
Banded Lapwing
Masked Lapwing (plover)
Masked Lapwing Plover - photo by A J Guesdon
The Masked Lapwing (Vanellus miles; name from the Latin for soldier and refers to the spurs, which give an armed appearance), previously known as the Masked Plover and often called the Spur-winged Plover or just Plover in its native range, is a large, common and conspicuous bird native to Australia. Its Aboriginal name: ‘baaldarradharra’.
This species is the largest representative of the family Charadriidae, at 35 cm (14 in) and 370 g (13 oz). The subspecies found in the southern and eastern states (Vanellus miles novaehollandiae), and often locally called the Spur-winged Plover, has a black neck-stripe and smaller wattles.
Masked Lapwings are most common around the edges of wetlands and in other moist, open environments, but are adaptable and can often be found in surprisingly arid areas. They can also be found on beaches and coastlines.
They make their nest in little hollows on the ground. The nesting pair defends their territory against all intruders by calling loudly, spreading their wings, and then swooping fast and low, and where necessary striking at interlopers with their feet and attacking animals on the ground with a conspicuous yellow spur on the carpal joint of the wing.
The bird may also use tactics such as fiercely protecting a non-existent nest, or a distraction display of hopping on a single leg, to attract a potential predator's attention to itself and away from its real nest or its chicks after they have commenced foraging. There seems to be some significant use of language to guide chicks during a perceived dangerous situation. Long calls seem to tell the chicks to come closer to the calling bird; a single chirp every few seconds to ask them to move away.
There is a much-believed but incorrect myth that the spur can inject venom. The myth may have been based on fear of the Masked Lapwing's territorial behaviour. Attacks are most vicious on other birds such as ravens, and also on cats and dogs, but once the chicks reach 60% of full size after 2–3 months, the chances of this happening decrease. Strikes are much rarer on humans since they are more aware. Sometimes the bird can damage its wing in a strike but usually survives and is flightless until the wing heals.
Young birds crouch and lie still when threatened - photo by Amos T Fairchild - A nest in m the grass at Mona Vale - photo by Margaret Woods
Painted Button-quail
The female builds a domed nest of leaves, sticks and grasses beneath a tussock of grass, or at the foot of a rock or sapling, and lays 3-4 eggs at a 2-3 day laying interval between each egg. The male incubates the eggs once the clutch is complete, and all the eggs hatch at the same time. The chicks leave the nest immediately and are only fed by the male for 7-10 days. The chicks can fly 10 days after leaving the nest. The painted buttonquail is about 19 to 20 cm (7.5 to 7.9 in) long. It is a ground-dwelling bird and is found in grassy forests and woodlands. It feeds on insects and seeds. Often the first sign that a Painted Button-quail is present in a dry, open forest is not a sighting of the bird, nor hearing its call, but a shallow depression of bare soil among the leaf litter. These bare patches, round and about 15 centimetres across, are called platelets or 'soup-plates'. Painted Button-quails forage for seeds and insects on the ground by spinning about on alternate legs to expose items of food among the leaves and on the soil surface, and it is this action that forms the platelets.
Painted Button Quail are active during the early evening from dusk on, at night and early morning, feeding on the ground. They are usually seen in pairs or small family parties, searching for seeds, fruit, leaves and insects.
Brush Turkeys
Brush- turkeys or Bush Turkeys (Alectura lathami) as they are sometimes called, belong to the megapodes family, meaning that they are incubator birds or mound-builders, and build large nests in which to incubate their eggs; the heat generated, like in compost bins, from these mounds of leaves is what incubates the eggs. The males build the nests.
Brush/Bush Turkey nest at Irrawong Falls, Warriewood/Ingleside last week, July 7th, 2021 - photo by Joe Mills
Their name megapode literally means "large foot" (Greek: mega = large, poda = foot), and is a reference to the heavy legs and feet typical of these terrestrial birds. Several females will lay their eggs in the one mound (up to 30 eggs can be there although the average is 18-24) and the chicks are unusual among birds as they will hatch fully feathered and be able to fly within a few hours – a good thing as these birds are ground dwellers or not predisposed to flying for long times, although they can. They are able to run fast and jump over fences quite easily. Lyre birds are also ground dwellers.
A young Brush-turkey that was scratching around in our backyard - this 'troop' seem to come through generation after generation via our 'patch';
One of the parents pausing long enough to say 'good morning!'
Lyrebirds
There are 2 species in the family of lyrebirds - the superb lyrebird and the Albert's lyrebird. It is the superb lyrebird which gives the family its name. Its spectacular tail of fanned feathers, when spread out in display, looks like a lyre (a musical instrument of ancient Greece).
The male superb lyrebird is 80-100 centimetres long, including his 55-centimetre-long tail. He is dark brown on the upper part of his body and lighter brown below, with red-brown markings on his throat. His tail feathers are dark brown above and silver-grey below.
Lyrebird at Irrawong Falls, Warriewood - these are also seen/heard from West Pittwater to Whale/Palm Beach
Females of the species are smaller than the males, with similar colouring but without the lyre-shaped tail. The females' tail feathers are broadly webbed with reddish markings. Young male superb lyrebirds do not grow their lyre tails until they are three or four years old. Until this time, they usually group together and are known as 'plain-tails'.
The Albert's lyrebird is similar in appearance to the superb lyrebird, but is smaller and darker, with a rich chestnut colour. The male does not have the outer lyre-shaped tail feathers of the superb lyrebird. The Albert's lyrebird is listed as vulnerable in NSW.
The display period for both species is from May to August, with breeding occurring mainly in June and July. Females are attracted to the mound by the male's display and song. Male birds will mate with several females, and although they appear to know where the nests are, they take no part in building them or incubating and feeding the young.
The female builds a dome-shaped nest of sticks, which can be on the ground, on rocks, within tree stumps, or in tree ferns and caves. The nest is lined with ferns, feathers, moss and rootlets. Usually, only 1 egg is laid, which hatches in around 6 weeks. The young lyrebird remains in the nest for 6 to 10 weeks.
Lyrebirds are very shy birds. When threatened, they escape by running and dodging rapidly through the undergrowth emitting high-pitched shrieks of alarm. With their short, round, weakly-muscled wings they too are one of our ground-nesting birds that rarely fly. However, their wings allow them to jump onto tree branches or rocks - and then glide back down to the forest floor.
The Sooty Oystercatchers, Haematopus fuliginosus, a Seabird classified among Australia’s Shore birds and waders species, and are a black shorebird with a long red bill, red eye and pink legs. Young birds are duller and browner. It is often seen with the similar Pied Oystercatcher and they are Australia’s only all-black seabird and is found only found in coastal areas. The Sooty Oystercatcher is strictly coastal, usually within 50 m of the ocean. It prefers rocky shores, but will be seen on coral reefs or sandy beaches near mudflats.