Bush stone curlew
From: prometheus.med.utah.edu/~bwjones/2023/02/bush-stone-curlew/
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Bush Stone-curlew
Bush Stone - curlew
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Bush Stone-curlew
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Bush Stone-curlew
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Bush Stone-curlew
Bush Stone-curlew
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Bush stone curlew
Bush stone-curlew
Bush Stone Curlew
a pair of Bush Stone Curlews photographed in an inner city park at Brisbane, Australia.
Bush Stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius)
Centenary Lakes, Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
Bush Stone- Curlew
Just having a stretch.
Bush stone curlew
Hiding in the gardens.
Bush Stone-curlew
The Bush Stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius) is a large, ground-dwelling bird of extraordinary grace and beauty. It is endemic to Australia and nearby islands. It was formerly known as the Bush Thick-knee.
Although the Bush Stone-curlew looks rather like a wader and is related to the oystercatchers, avocets and plovers, it is a dry-land predator: essentially a winged terrestrial carnivore.
Like most stone-curlews, it is mainly nocturnal and specialises in hunting small grassland animals: frogs, spiders, insects, molluscs, crustaceans, snakes, lizards and small mammals are all taken, mostly gleaned or probed from soft soil or rotting wood; also a few seeds or tubers, particularly in drought years. Birds usually forage individually or in pairs over a large home range, particularly on moonlit nights.
When disturbed, they freeze motionless, often in odd-looking postures. For visual predators like raptors (and humans), this works well, but it serves little purpose with introduced feral animals that hunt by scent: notably foxes.
Despite their ungainly appearance and habit of freezing motionless, they are sure-footed, fast and agile on the ground, and although they seldom fly during daylight hours, they are far from clumsy in the air; flight is rapid and direct on long, broad wings.
Bush Stone-curlews remain reasonably common in the north of Australia, but have become rare in the more fertle south, particularly in Victoria where they are endangered.
In southwest Victoria, the Bush Stone-curlew is recorded from West Wimmera Shire, Hindmarsh Shire, Yarriambiack Shire and Horsham Rural City.
Most experts believe that fox predation is a prime factor in their decline, however there are areas where foxes are common yet the Bush Stone-curlew population remains healthy, so consideranble uncertainty remains. Large-scale habitat destruction and fragmentation has undoubtedly been important. bird.net.au/bird/index.php?title=Bush_Stone-curlew
Bush Stone-curlew
One of a group of around a dozen in the urban area of Kuranda. Although classified as a wader, their legs are no longer used for actual wading, they are not even a water bird any more. The wader legs now give them some added height and speed for hunting and foraging on dry land.
"The Bush Stone-curlew or Bush Thick-knee (Burhinus grallarius, obsolete name Burhinus magnirostris) is a large, ground-dwelling bird endemic to Australia. Although it looks rather like a wader and is related to the oystercatchers, avocets and plovers, it is a terrestrial predator filling an ecological niche similar to that of the roadrunners of North America.
Like most stone-curlews, it is mainly nocturnal and specialises in hunting small grassland animals: frogs, spiders, insects, molluscs, crustaceans, snakes, lizards and small mammals are all taken, mostly gleaned or probed from soft soil or rotting wood; also a few seeds or tubers, particularly in drought years. Birds usually forage individually or in pairs over a large home range, particularly on moonlit nights.
During the day, Bush Stone-curlews tend to remain inactive, sheltering among tall grass or low shrubs and relying on their cryptic plumage to protect them from predators. When disturbed, they freeze motionless, often in odd-looking postures. For visual predators like raptors (and humans), this works well, but it serves little purpose with animals that hunt by scent such as foxes, dingoes or goannas.
Despite their ungainly appearance and habit of freezing motionless, they are sure-footed, fast and agile on the ground, and although they seldom fly during daylight hours, they are far from clumsy in the air; flight is rapid and direct on long, broad wings.
The Bush Stone-curlew is probably heard more than it is seen. Its call sounds like a wail or a scream in the night. When scared, it screeches – a sound similar to the screech of a possum. When threatened (presumably in the presence of a nest), they may raise their wings wide and high in an impressive threat posture and emit a loud, hoarse hissing noise." en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bush_Stone-curlew
Bush stone-curlew
Bush stone-curlew at East Point
Bush Stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius)
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Bush Stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius)
Centenary Lakes, Cairns, Queensland, Australia.
Bush Stone-Curlew
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Bush Stone-curlew
These big Bush Stone-curlews were sitting (nesting?) in leaf litter about a metre from a footpatrh in Desert Park, Alice Springs. Their camouflage was so effective that people were walking past without noticing them.
Bush Stone-curlew
These big Bush Stone-curlews were sitting (nesting?) in leaf litter about a metre from a footpatrh in Desert Park, Alice Springs. Their camouflage was so effective that people were walking past without noticing them.
Bush Stone-curlew
Part of a birds of prey display
Bush Stone Curlew
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Bush Stone-Curlews
Novotel Rockford, Palm Cove, Queensland, Australia.
This was on the Palm Cove golf course ... I think this was part of our hotel ... but I never saw it being used.
It was a lovely place to walk, and see interesting wildlife, although I was a bit wary of that too!
The bush stone-curlew or bush thick-knee, also known as the Iben bird (Burhinus grallarius, obsolete name Burhinus magnirostris) is a large, ground-dwelling bird endemic to Australia. Its favoured habitat is open plains and woodlands, where it stalks slowly at night in search of invertebrates such as insects. Its grey-brown colouration is distinguished by dark streaks, its eyes are large and legs are long. It is capable of flight, but relies on the camouflage of its plumage to evade detection during the day; the bush curlew adopts a rigid posture when it becomes aware of an observer. Both sexes care for two eggs laid on the bare ground, usually sited near bush in a shaded position or next to a fallen branch.
Bush Stone-curlew
Urimbirra Wildlife Park. Near Victor Harbor, South Australia.
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