A Southern Cassowary, the largest bird found on the Australian continent. (Photo: OZinOH)
An Eastern Whipbird, which lives primarily in the understory of the Australian rainforest. (Photo: Brian McCauley)
Northeastern Australia’s rainforests are home to a number of some intriguing species, as Mary McCann describes in today’s BirdNote®.
[MUSIC: BIRDNOTE® THEME]
CURWOOD: A visit to a far-off country can offer the chance to experience the truly exotic and unfamiliar – and as Mary McCann tells us in today’s BirdNote, that’s certainly true of the land down-under.
BirdNote®
Australia’s Rainforest Birds
[http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/193295, 0.02-.05]
MCCANN: The rainforests of Northeastern Australia are isolated from all other rainforests on earth. As a result, they harbor many species of birds found nowhere else.
[http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/193295, 0.02-.05]
The Eastern Whipbird hangs out in the dense understory. It’s dark, crested, 10 inches long—and more often heard than seen. Like its neighbor, the Spotted Catbird, that’s nearly a foot long and emerald-green with white spots.
[http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/202015, 0.37-.42]
Easier to lay eyes on is the large, pigeon-like Wompoo Fruit-Dove, perching high in a tree, gulping down small fruits. Feathered in a stunning combination of green, purple, and yellow, this bird is clearly named for its voice.
[http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/202015, 0.37-.38]
While pig-like grunting on the forest floor tells us we’re in the company of the largest bird on the continent—the Southern Cassowary.
A Southern Cassowary, the largest bird found on the Australian continent. (Photo: OZinOH)
[http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Casuarius-casuarius]
On average, the female weighs 130 pounds and stands around 5 feet tall, looking like a giant, lush, black hairpiece on thick legs.
[http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Casuarius-casuarius]
A helmet called a casque makes it look as much like a dinosaur as any living bird.
[http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Casuarius-casuarius, first recording in list]
I’m Mary McCann.
###
Written by Bob Sundstrom
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York: Eastern Whipbird [193295] recorded by David A McCartt; Spotted Catbird [189064] recorded by Cedar A Mathers-Winn; Wompoo Fruit-Dove [202015] recorded by Emma I Greig.
Southern Cassowary recorded by Marc Anderson, sourced from
http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Casuarius-casuarius
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Dominic Black
© 2005-2018 Tune In to Nature.org March 2018 Narrator: Mary McCann
http://birdnote.org/show/australias-rainforest-birds
CURWOOD: Burrow on down to our website, loe dot org, to see some photos and learn more.
Links https://www.birdnote.org/show/australias-rainforest-birds - This story on the BirdNote® website http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/193295 - The call of the Eastern Whipbird http://macaulaylibrary.org/audio/202015 - The call of the Wompoo Fruit-Dove http://www.xeno-canto.org/species/Casuarius-casuarius - About the Southern Cassowary