OK... most of us know that I have a pair of catbirds living at the rear of my garden. Now at dusk every evening I am hearing a very loud rasping noise, not unlike a Bower bird. I can hear the catbirds fussing around too. When I have tried to hide out there and watch I have seen what I think is a normal Green Catbird fly into the trees, but cannot identify this rasper.
if anyone is familiar with Green Catbirds...do you know if they make a similar noise to the Bower birds, or is it possible that the latter would come into the catbird territory to make a bower??
I can find essentially bugger all on the internet about catbirds and their behaviours. I observe them daily and am familiar with their other noises .... but this is different. If there is a bower bird around I WANT TO FIND IT... :')
I hope you find your bowerbird birdie they certainly are a striking looking bird.
Just a bit of information that i found
There are 18 species of genus ptilonorhynchus Bowerbird in the world, (mainly New Guinea and Australia) of them 7 species are found in Australia of which 4 live in New South Wales. They are the Satin Bowerbird, Regent Bowerbird, Spotted Bowerbird & Green Catbird.
Their call in alarm is a harsh, wheezing hiss but when feeding in flocks they can make continuous croaking sounds, explosive churrings and whirring rattles but are more silent in the non breeding season. In display the males emit harsh chatterings, buzzing and creaking churrings interspersed with loud ringing notes and mimicry of local birds.
not sure if this helps but thought id put it there for you i got it from this site.
www.wiresnr.org/satinbowerbird.html
Thanks Cathshane.... mmmm not sure if it helps either but thanks anyway. I might camp out there in a few minutes and set up a recorder..... and lots of mozzie repellent at this time of night. Maybe a video camera would be more helpful actually as it can pick up more in low light
Sunshine Coast Queensland
If you were in Townsville I'd say a Great Bowerbird, any rasping calls in my garden around dusk turn out to be G Bowerbird, but given your local it may be a Satin??
Ed Townsville NQ
But would it be likely that they would have a bower in the middle of a catbird territory? Or... is it more likely that it is actually the catbirds but presenting a different call for mating or nesting season?
Sunshine Coast Queensland