Pallid cuckoo

This is a male Pallid Cuckoo calling loudly and repeatedly on 30 August at about 1430.

At 1630 on the same a different and strange call was heard, and on investigating, it turned out to be a female Pallid Cuckoo. The male was in attendance (obviously his calling was a succesful attraction device).

Having got the female in his vicinity he began court1ng her. This began with them sitting side by side on a dead branch about 2m above the ground. He then flew to the ground seized a fat caterpillar which he took to the top of a stake supporting a tree guard and beat it a few times. He then flew next to the female and presented it to her. She accepted the offering and swallowed it. I saw this happen approximately 10 times over 10 minutes before they both flew off at high speed.

I had initially thought the caterpillars were sawfly larvae and puzzled over the bird's ability to eat such astringent prey. However another observer (Paul Taylor) has reported seeing large numbers of other, presumably better tasting, 'black caterpillars' .

In a further interaction Rosemary Blemings has advised the following (similar comments were subsequently posted by Steve Holliday)

"They belong to the Autumn Day-flying Moth (Apina callisto). They are ground-feeding caterpillars using Capeweed, Cranesbill & Plantain as their main food since we've removed whatever they normally ate in pre-settlement days.

"Once they reach about 3cm the caterpillars commence excavating a hole & a tunnel in bare, compacted soil. They bring the soil grains up one by one & little piles are visible beside the pencil-diameter holes. Once inside the tunnel the caterpillars pupate, emerging in April as blackish moths with brown & cream patterning and orange/black striped bodies. They compare in size with a 10c piece if such comparisons are possible. The A. callisto caterpillars are also amazing in that they are able to continue foraging in -7 degree frost because their bodies contain an anti-freeze chemical. So what that would do to alimentary canals also rates a question or two!"

On 3 September 2007 at 10:30am a female Pallid Cuckoo flew into a lightning-damaged Eucalyptus macrorhyncha about 50m from the branch on which the previous episode had taken place. She called loudly ( a grating call) and a male flew in from at least 200m away. The male was making a rather unusual call - somewhat like the alarm call of a Common Blackbird. The birds immeditely copulated and after a brief rest then flew off together.

On 5 September I was preparing another area for direct seeding (ie spraying it with Round-Up) and spending a cuple of hours peering at the ground spotted some of the caterillars and was able to get images of both the larva and its hole.