ML324102241

Age

Not specified

Sex

Not specified

Playback

Not specified

Observation details

Bird (or birds) recently located by Chris Rehberg. Location provided by him in confidence. We first tried to locate the bird at 8:30pm the previous night to no avail. In the AM we listened for about 30 minutes with nothing. We tried playback in the spot we had picked, still nothing. We then walked further back the direction we had come, where the sun had warmed the ground a bit and played the call again. This time after about 5 minutes we started to hear the exact same call being mirrored back at us. It called for one full sequence. Cary and I both agreed the call was being mirrored back at us. We decamped this particular spot to position ourselves on a track nearby that parallels the habitat. We continued some playback here to see if we could lure the bird out of dense grass, however in this we were unsuccessful. It did however produce another few series of calls, maybe 4-5 sequences in total. Some of these we recorded. The call I would describe as 'ooo-ooOp' - very low and bassy with a sudden cut off, repeated about once every 1-1.5 seconds, very slightly and gradually increasing in speed. The call was audibly different to Painted and Little Buttonquails. Painted I would describe as 'hmmMMmmp', consistent, unwavering and louder. Little is much more like Brush Bronzewing. On Painted Buttonquail, my experience with the species is that females are territorial and highly investigative of playback. To this end I have never failed to lure one with calls once I have known they are present. We played Painted BQ for a short while and waited for a response or patrol, however nothing eventuated. The habitat is a fire ravaged sedge and grassy depression. The ground is almost entirely sand and charcoal which probably receives groundwater seepage for months after rain. In the deepest part were Casuarina saplings.

Technical information

Recorder

Microphone

Accessories

Original file size

4.07 MB