Hi all, in the past month or so I've heard this strange but lovely little bird sound early in the morning (in the hour before sunrise) and sometimes in the evening, (just after sundown). I never hear it any other time of day and I can't seem to be able to spot it for the lack of light and too many trees. It makes the same pattern call for about 3 seconds, then a pause of 3 to 15 seconds then it repeats the same song pattern.
We live on the central coast NSW in a small bushy beach village.
I tried my best to record it with my phone (in between all the Kookaburras going nuts) but it was so quiet. I tried to enhance the sound a bit and I've got an mp3 here for you to download and listen to. There's lots of background noise but it should be the most prominent sound there if you listen carefully.
http://www.savetraining.com.au/birdsound/bird_sound.mp3
I hope someone can identify it from this. I will try my best to get a better recording if not.
Cheers,
Paul.
Very interesting, sorry I don't know the call. Perhaps a lyre bird? their calls are so varied. It sounds a bit like a magpie but obviously isn't one.
Hi thanks for the reply. I was thinking possibly a Magpie as occasionally I hear the faintest hint of their characteristic 'warblegarble' noise in that call, but I'm never 100% sure. Also, I did hear that they are known for having a different night time song sometimes.
No, not a magpie, the call was too regular and melodic, at least in my view. My best bet would be a lyre bird imitating a magpie, but probably not that either.
My two guesses would be:
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1. A Pied Butcherbird, based more on the behaviour than the sound. I have been hearing them myself over the past few weeks, in the half hour or so before dawn. The male has a spring/mating song different to the standard set of butcherbird calls, which he sings in the night or pre-dawn, repeating over and over for maybe 15-30 mins.
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2. From the sound, I would have picked it as a Magpie, cos as you say, I feel like I can hear the magpie warble in it a couple of times.
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Cheers
Tim
Cheers
Tim
Brisbane
The pattern of notes and the time of calling certainly puts it in the Pied Butcher Bird area, and they repeat like that . maybe a young male? It does have a magpie sound to it too though
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Turns out it is definitely a Magpie, over the weekend I sat and listened carefully for much longer and as the day became brighter it started to add the typical warble Magpie sound to the end of the repetition. I will try to capture the sound of that this weekend!
I can't quite believe magpies make that noise, but bird calls can be very varied.
How fascinating. At first I thought Magpie... but then it just wasn't quite right. And repeated so faithfully. Just didn't seem quite 'magpie-ish'. But perhaps they have slightly different calls in different areas of the country... or perhaps this individual has a querky sound all of his own! I've certainly heard some very distinctive calls for individuals in the parrot world...