Unidentified Bird

16 years ago

Hi everyone,

I live on the south eastern coast of NSW Australia and for about 30 years I've been feeding native birds in my back garden.

Throughout the year we have visits from Rainbow Lorikeets, Crimson Rosellas and the occasional Eastern Rosella. We also get the following types of cockatoos; Corellas, Sulphur Crested (Which we don't feed because they are so destructive) Galahs and occasionally Yellow-tailed Blacks.

Other birds include, a pair of Little Ravens which visit each year (and nest in next door's pine tree) as well as Magpies, Mudlarks, Willy Wagtails, Blue Wrens, New Holland Honey Eaters, Crested Pigeons, various Wattle Birds and a family of Satin Bower birds. This is apart from the other introduced birds such as Doves, Sparrows, Starlings, Bull-Bulls, Swallows and Minors.

This is the first time I've posted on this forum and the reason for this post is that I have a question for any bird watcher familiar with birds of the East Coast of NSW.

Just recently I've noticed a strange looking bird running around the yard and darting in and out of the garden as it forages around just like a chicken would. Initially I thought it was a small bantam but after a couple of sightings I realised it is smaller than a bantam and looking in Cayley's What Bird is That? the closest I can come to is that it could be a female Banded Rail (shown on page 581). Although the colouring and posture is similar to that in the colour plates, there are no sizes given.

As I've lived in this area for almost 70 years and have never seen one before, I would like to know if anyone can confirm that they are in this area. Cayley shows it as distributed in this area but that book was written in 1931 when there were only a few homes in this area.

It seems quite shy and when aproached it darts off into the garden when anyone gets within about 40 feet of it but soon reappears when we walk away a bit further. Because of this I've been unable to get a picture to post but will keep trying.

Thanks in advance for any help.

All the best, Nev.

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Comments (8)

rachel_frome_ky
16 years ago
The Buff-banded Rail and its subspecies can be relatively tame and are found throughout Australia
alan_la
16 years ago
Nev, It's called a Banded Rail in Austrailian books.
It is a largely terrestrial bird the size of a small domestic chicken, with mainly brown upperparts, finely banded black and white underparts, a white eyebrow, chestnut band running from the bill round the nape, with a buff band on the breast. It utilises a range of moist or wetland habitats with low, dense vegetation for cover. It is usually quite shy but may become very tame and bold in some circumstances, such as in island resorts within the Great Barrier Reef region.[2]

The Buff-banded Rail is an omnivorous scavenger which feeds on a range of terrestrial invertebrates and small vertebrates, seeds, fallen fruit and other vegetable matter, as well as carrion and refuse. Its nest is usually situated in dense grassy or reddy vegetation close to water, with a clutch size of 5-8. Although some island populations may be threatened, or even exterminated, by introduced predators, the species as a whole appears to be safe and its conservation status is considered to be of Least Concern.
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splinter1804
Original Author
16 years ago
Hi everyone,

Thank's for the replies, unfortunately he/she seems to have moved off to greener pastures as I haven't seen him/her since I first posted.

Thanks any way, all the best, Nev.
rachel_frome_ky
16 years ago
Is this the bird you saw?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buff-banded_Rail
splinter1804
Original Author
16 years ago
Hi everyone,

Thanks for the responses. After my last post he/she has returned.

In fact I now suspect that he/she may just have been just hiding amongst the plants in the garden and never left at all.

However the other morning I saw her/him pecking around a milk crate on which I sit my bird feeding tray and I was lucky enough to get a couple of (not very good pic's). I couldn't get very close as he/she is still very timid so I had to take my chances and try and blow the pic's up.

Judging by rachael's pic, I think she gets the cigar, what do you think?

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

{{!gwi}}

Thanks everyone for your help, all the best, Nev.
rachel_frome_ky
16 years ago
Wow! I wonder what it would be like to have such exotic beauties hanging around the yard! Of course, if I lived in Australia, they would be normal yard birds...
claireplymouth z6b coastal MA
16 years ago
Nev said:

"Throughout the year we have visits from Rainbow Lorikeets, Crimson Rosellas and the occasional Eastern Rosella. We also get the following types of cockatoos; Corellas, Sulphur Crested (Which we don't feed because they are so destructive) Galahs and occasionally Yellow-tailed Blacks.

Other birds include, a pair of Little Ravens which visit each year (and nest in next door's pine tree) as well as Magpies, Mudlarks, Willy Wagtails, Blue Wrens, New Holland Honey Eaters, Crested Pigeons, various Wattle Birds and a family of Satin Bower birds. This is apart from the other introduced birds such as Doves, Sparrows, Starlings, Bull-Bulls, Swallows and Minors."

Reading the names is a delight! I suppose I could google them, but I may just let my imagination run loose on these birds.

Thanks,
Claire
gor-gor
16 years ago
We would love to see photos of your other birds! I'd like to see photos of your finches in the wild (I have zebra and owl finches for the austrailian birds). The parrots/cockatoos woud be cool to see in the wild also.

Unidentified Bird

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alan_la

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Unidentified Bird

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rachel_frome_ky

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