JAVAN POND HERON

Photographed on West Island, Cocos,  December 2018

(*815)                   JAVAN POND-HERON            Ardeola speciosa

AUSTRALIA               764

Found in freshwater marshes, grasslands, ponds with well-vegetated fringes and occasionally coastal mudflats. 45 cm. Distribution: parts of mainland Southeast Asia, Greater and Lesser Sundas, Sulawesi and Mindanao.  

ORIENTAL HONEY-BUZZARD

Photographed at Lake Joondalup, Western Australia, December 2018

(*   858)                ORIENTAL HONEY-BUZZARD             Pernis ptilorhyncus

AUSTRALIA.                   763

Turns up in a variety of forested habitats, from primary rainforest to open woodlands. 50 cms. Distribution: Oriental region and northeast Asia: northern populations migrate.

HODGSON'S HAWK-CUCKOO

Photographed on West Island, Cocos, December 2018

1265                   HODGSON'S HAWK-CUCKOO                Hierococcyx nisicolor

AUSTRALIA                  762

Also known as Whistling Hawk-cuckoo. Found in n-e India, Myanmar, southern China and s-e Asia. Brood parasite. 

SIBERIAN THRUSH

Photographed on Home Island, Cocos, December 2018

1264                    SIBERIAN THRUSH                     Geokichla sibirica      

AUSTRALIA                  761

Breeds in Siberia, strongly migratory with most birds moving to southeastern Asia during winter; rare vagrant to Western Europe. Very secretive. Omnivorous, eating wide range of insects, earthworms and berries. 

NOTE:   Third record for Australia.

CHESTNUT-WINGED CUCKOO

Photographed on Home Island, Cocos, December 2018

1263                 CHESTNUT-WINGED CUCKOO                  Clamator coromandus

AUSTRALIA                      760

Also known as Red-winged Crested Cuckoo. Found in southeastern Asia and parts of South Asia. Breed in Himalayas and migrate south in winter to Sri Lanka, southern India and tropical Southeast Asia including parts of Indonesia, Thailand and Philippines. 

NOTE: First record in Australia, and only photographs in Australia.

RUFOUS SCRUBBIRD

Photographed at Brushy Mountain Camping Ground, Werrikimbe National Park, near Walcha, NSW, October 2018

1262                   RUFOUS SCRUBBIRD                   Atrichornis rufescens   

AUSTRALIAN                   759

Found in isolated pockets of dense moist tangles of ferns and undergrowth up to a metre high, with tussocks, fallen logs and deep leaf litter; often adjacent or near temperate rainforests, including Antarctic beech. Isolated populations above 600 m; from Mt Mistake, s of Gratton (Q), s to McPherson's Ranges and ranges in ne NSW, inland to New England Ranges and Gibraltar Range N"P s to Barrington Tops NP (NSW). Rare, sedentary, range much reduced by logging. 

BANDED FRUIT-DOVE

Photographed at Gubara Pools, Kakadu, Northern Territory, October 2018

1261                  BANDED FRUIT-DOVE                   Ptilinopus cinctus    

AUSTRALIA.              758

Occurs in small groups, pairs or alone in pockets of rainforest. Feeds on figs and other fruits. Shy and often hidden in foliage. Inhabits rugged sandstone escarpments with patches of monsoon rainforest and fruit trees, never far from water. Range restricted to Arnhem land in Northern Territory.

ORIENTAL CUCKOO

Photographed at Darwin Botanical Gardens, October 2018

1260                   ORIENTAL CUCKOO                Cuculus opatus 

AUSTRALIAN                    757

Large cuckoo. Often solitary. Shy, elusive. Migratory: from Eurasia as far south as Indonesia, NG, northern Australia; some over-winter in Australia. Uncommon. Inhabits rainforests, monsoon forests, vine scrub, riverine thickets, wetter, densely canopied eucalyptus forest, paperbark swamps, mangroves.

CHESTNUT-BACKED BUTTON-QUAIL

Photographed near Katherine, Northern Territory, October 2018

1259                  CHESTNUT-BACKED BUTTON-QUAIL                   Turnix castanotus

AUSTRALIA                   756

Endemic to Australia. Found in dry savannah, subtropical or tropical dry scrubland or tropical dry lowland grassland. range: Kimberley (WA) and Top End (NT).

PRINCESS PARROT

Photographed at Jupiter Wells, Western Australia, September 2018

1258                    PRINCESS PARROT                  Polytelis alexandrae

AUSTRALIA                        755

Also known as Alexandra's Parrot and Princess Alexandra's Parrot. Extremely enigmatic. Highly nomadic. Rare. Arrives to breed and then disappears. Found in spinifex with eucalypts, acacias, desert oak, desert poplars, hakes, mistletoes, parakeelia, other succulents around salt lakes; often far from water. Ranges across western inland Australia.

Note: Reasonable views but disappointing photographs of this rare parrot.

SPOTTED SCRUBWREN

Photographed at Port Lincoln National Park, South Australia, March 2015

1257                      SPOTTED SCRUBWREN                

AUSTRALIA                         754

Recently split and elevated to full species, was once a subspecies of White-browed Scrubwren.

Photographed at Cheyenne's Beach, WA November 2016

BLUE ROCK THRUSH

Photographed in Onslow, Western Australia, July 2018

1256                   EASTERN BLUE ROCK THRUSH                Monticola solitarius 

AUSTRALIA                 753

Found on rocky shorelines, cliffs, open stony country, coastal towns. Solitary, though occasionally in groups on rocks. Breeds in S Europe, N Africa, Central Asia, China, Japan and N Philippines; migrates to Sumatra to breed. Very rare vagrant to Australia; recorded at Noosa 1997.

BLUE PETREL

Photographed on Eaglehawk pelagic, Tasmania, June 2018

1255                   BLUE PETREL                   Halobaena caerulea.   

AUSTRALIA                752

Found in the seas off southern Australia from c. Fremantle around to c Sydney. Mostly July -Oct. Commonly beach washed after storms. Breeds on sub-antarctic Islands.

Port MacDonnell pelagic, South Australia, 25 August, 2019