Djarawong Lodge Birds - F to P
Fig Bird
Figbirds are part of a worldwide family that includes the orioles, of which Australia has two other members (the Yellow and Olive-backed Orioles).
Males have bare, red skin around the eye, contrasting against a black crown and grey neck and throat. The remainder of the body is olive-green, except for a white under-tail area and a distinctive yellow front. Females have grey skin around the eye and lack distinctive head markings. They are brown-green above and dull-white below, streaked with brown.
Figs are a particularly popular food item, although they will feed on most soft fruits and berries in canopy trees and love the fruit on the palms around the pool and driveway areas.
Forest Kingfisher
The Forest Kingfisher has a dark royal blue head with pale turquoise on the back. There is a large white spot over the bill. The under parts are white. The male has a white collar which the female lacks. In flight there is a prominent white wing patch. There is a broad black eyestrip extending from the bill to the eye coverts. The tail is royal blue above and below is black to dusky grey.
The Forest Kingfisher is essentially a tropical and subtropical kingfisher.
They favour watercourse vegetation and the margins of swamps and billabongs. They may also be found in mangroves, cane fields, farmlands and beaches, however they require forest and woodland for breeding.
The Forest Kingfisher's diet consists of invertebrates, including beetles, bugs, spiders and grasshoppers. It also will eat insect larvae, small lizards, frogs and worms. It typically hunts from low bare branches or telegraph wires.
Masked Lapwing
Masked Lapwings are large, ground-dwelling birds that are closely related to the waders. The Masked Lapwing is mainly white below, with brown wings and back and a black crown. Birds have large yellow wattles covering the face, and are equipped with a thorny spur that projects from the wrist on each wing. The spur is yellow with a black tip. Those from the South would know this bird as a Plover.
The Masked Lapwing inhabits marshes, mudflats, beaches and grasslands. It is often seen in urban areas. Where this bird is used to human presence, it may tolerate close proximity.
Masked Lapwings feed on insects and their larvae, and earthworms. Most food is obtained from just below the surface of the ground, but some may also be taken above the surface. Birds are normally seen feeding alone, in pairs or in small groups.
The Masked Lapwing is notorious for its defence of its nesting site. This is particularly the case after the chicks have hatched. Adults will dive on intruders, or act as though they have a broken wing in an attempt to lure the intruder away from the nest.
We have a delightful family living here at the B&B and will chase us off if we go too close on the ride-on mower.
Noisy Friarbird
The Noisy Friarbird is a large member of the honeyeater family with a distinctive naked black head and a strong bill with a prominent casque (bump) at the base. The upperparts are dark brown to grey, the underbody is off-white, with silver-white feathers around the throat and upper breast, and the tail has a white tip. It is a noisy and conspicuous bird mainly seen in small groups, usually up in trees.
The Noisy Friarbird prefers dry forests and eucalypt woodlands, as well as coastal scrub, heathlands and around wetlands and wet forests, and is found in most climate zones, extending into arid areas along rivers.
The Noisy Friarbird eats nectar, fruit, insects and other invertebrates and sometimes eggs or baby birds. They spend most of their time feeding on nectar high up in trees, only coming down to the ground occasionally to feed on insects. Often feed in noisy flocks, and with other honeyeaters such as the Red Wattlebird.
They frequent our nectar trees in the gardens and are truely a strange looking bird.
Orange Footed Scrubfowl
The Orange-footed Scrubfowl is one of three megapodes in Australia. This family name refers to the robust feet of all species. The nest is a large incubator mound that generates heat through the decay of moist organic material. Direct solar radiation may also contribute significantly. A typical mound is 2-3 metres tall and up to 15 metres diameter and can weigh over 50 tonnes, maintained by a pair throughout the year. It may be used for decades. Eggs are laid when the mound temperature is about 30-35 degrees. This temperature results from site selection, rather than maintenance of the mound.
More than one pair may use a mound so it can produce large numbers of young each season. The large egg enables the hatching of a relatively advanced chick. One report of a chick unearthed from a mound states that it immediately flew about 10 metres.
Scrubfowl have a peculiar loud territorial call that is uttered mainly during the night. During the nesting season, it is more frequent and mostly a duet between the male and female.
Food comprises various items found in leaf litter, including fallen fruit.