OUR BIRDS AROUND THE WORLD

When we talk about migratory birds we’re often referring to those flying from one region to another with the change in seasons, frequently because they breed in one place and rest (‘holiday’) in another when not breeding. The remarkable shorebirds, including Eastern Curlew and Whimbrel (see Our Volunteers Voice Issue 38 March 2023) which migrate between the northern and southern hemispheres are excellent examples.

However, some bird species that are permanently resident in Australia are also resident in other countries of the world. These species do not migrate between the northern and southern hemispheres, or between continents.

Some species are nomadic within their continent, and some are actually sub-species of, or different races from, our species in Australia. Their nomadic wanderings are determined by environmental boundaries, such as wetlands or deserts, forests or heathlands, mountains or coasts, rather than man-made boundaries, such as international borders.

In this article, we’re going to look at some of our Australian birds that are also found elsewhere, such as in Africa, Asia including South-east Asia, Europe, and New Zealand (NZ).

First, let’s look at one of our feathered cousins in NZ. Our Australian common and nomadic Purple Swamphen, Porphyrio melanotis (previously Porphyrio porphyrio) is also widespread in NZ, and known there by the Maori name ‘Pukeko’.

In Australia and NZ, they are mainly found in swamps, marshy paddocks and urban wetlands, foraging in and adjacent to water, especially reed-beds. They readily walk on floating vegetation, and bend tops of reeds to form roosting platforms over the water. Australia’s Purple Swamphen is also seen along river and estuarine habitats.

In both countries, they eat a wide variety of plant material, particularly succulent bases of reed and rush stems which they sever and strip with their huge bill, then grasp in their foot to eat. Many parrots also grasp their food with their (usually left) foot.

In NZ, although Pukeko are mainly vegetarian, it has been suggested that they also eat live animals such as small fish, birds and mammals which they actively stalk during the breeding season, particularly for their chicks. They also eat carrion from dead animals. With agricultural development in NZ, the Pukeko has expanded considerably into pastures and croplands in high-rainfall areas. In the past, Pukeko were considered a pest in agricultural areas and shot during hunting seasons, though they were regarded as poor eating.

Purple Swamphen pair-bonding behaviour for breeding is quite delightful. They engage in bill-nibbling, mutual preening, mock mounting and occasional courtship feeding, which can be very appealing to the human onlooker.

A variety of Porphyrio species, similar to those found in Australia, have been recorded in Africa; southern Europe; Asia including India, south China, Indonesia (Sumatra, Borneo and Java); and some Pacific Islands. In Eurasia and Africa they’re known as the Purple Gallinule.

Now let’s mention the White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Haliaeetus leucogaster. Resident in Australia, it is found on inland and water-bodies such as large rivers, fresh and saline lakes, reservoirs and islands. Also resident in Asia, it prefers rocky coasts, islets, and sometimes larger inland water bodies up to 1,400m above sea level, although it breeds in lowlands.

Besides Australia, it is also found in India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, south-east China, the Sundas, Philippines, Wallacea, New Guinea region and

Bismarck Archipelago. It is a scarce to uncommon coastal resident in South-east Asia.

In the air, it glides and soars with wings in a ‘V’ shape. It soars to great heights: its graceful, buoyant flight powered with deep wing beats. Its aerial courtship display includes acrobatic somersaults, side-slipping and stoops.

During the day, it patrols beaches and inshore habitats, including coastal reaches of rivers and large inland water bodies, often traveling some distance inland to feed. A carnivore, it swoops in a shallow dive to snatch prey in its massive, powerful talons, mostly taking fish from the water surface. But it also scavenges and eats large waterbirds, turtles, rabbits and flying foxes.

The White-bellied Sea-Eagle is a large, handsome bird with its clean white head, neck and underparts plumage, and grey wings and back. Note the hooked bill and powerful talons, typical of a large raptor.

And last, but definitely not least, is the Beach Stone-curlew (Esacus magnirostris). Its current common name is appropriate as it’s a coastal bird. In fact, besides being Australian residents, Beach Stone-curlews occur along the coastlines of much of South-east Asia, including the Malay Peninsula, Indonesia, the Philippines, and New Caledonia. They’re uncommon, sedentary, and occasionally nomadic.

Although a little similar in appearance to the well-known Bush Stonecurlew (Burhinus grallarius), the Beach Stone-curlew is only distantly related to the Bush Stone-curlew. They are not even in the same genus.

Its previous common name (Beach ‘Thick-knee’) is a misnomer, as their knees, that look like they are bent the wrong way, are actually their ankles with the long part of the foot, the tarsus, leading to the toes (effectively most birds stand on their toes like ballet dancers. Many have elongated toes for perching and catching, collecting, or scratching for, and sometimes holding, their food.) Note its huge bill (much larger than that of the Bush Stone-curlew): it also has more obvious black and white markings on face and wings. Beach Stone-curlews prefer open, undisturbed beaches with estuaries or mangroves nearby. On large intertidal mudflats, sandflats, sandbanks and sand-spits exposed by low tide, they forage for crabs and other marine invertebrates. They seem to prefer crabs, hammering them open and sometimes washing them before swallowing. They also frequent river mouths, offshore sandbars at coral atolls, reefs, rock platforms, and coastal lagoons. Beach Stone-curlews have been recorded around the north coast of Australia and associated islands from near Onslow in Western Australia to the Manning River in New South Wales, but they have largely disappeared from the south-eastern part of their former Australian range, and are now rarely recorded on ocean beaches in New South Wales.