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BOOBOOK
JOURNAL OF THE AUSTRALASIAN RAPTOR ASSOCIATION
Volume 26 Number 1
August 2008
ARA CONTACTS
President:
Victor Hurley
0427 238 898
[email protected]
Secretary
Ms Michelle Manhal
0418 387 424
[email protected]
Treasurer
Dr Raylene Cooke
[email protected]
Webmaster
Mr Peter Wignell
[email protected]
Editor, Boobook
Boobook production
Dr Stephen Debus
Hugo Phillipps
02 6772 1710 (ah)
[email protected]
Area Representatives:
ACT
Mr Jerry Olsen
[email protected]
NSW
Dr Rod Kavanagh
[email protected]
NT
Mr Ray Chatto
[email protected]
Qld
Mr Stacey McLean
[email protected]
SA
Mr Ian Falkenberg
[email protected]
WA
Mr Jonny Schoenjahn
[email protected]
Tas
Mr Nick Mooney
[email protected]
Vic
Ms Michelle Manhal
[email protected]
New Zealand
VACANT
PNG/Indonesia
Mr David Bishop
[email protected]
Other
BOPWatch coordinator
William Steele
Editor, Circus
Michelle Manhal
Captive raptor advisor
Jerry Olsen
02 6201 2504 (bh)
[email protected]
Education advisor
Greg Czechura
07 3840 7642 (bh)
[email protected]
Raptor management
advisor
Nick Mooney
03 6233 3083 (bh)
[email protected]
[email protected]
Membership enquiries
Membership Officer, Birds Australia, Suite 2-05, 60 Leicester Street, Carlton, Vic. 3053
Ph. 1300 730 075, [email protected]
Annual subscription $A30 single membership, $A35 family and $A45 for institutions, due on 1
January. Bankcard and MasterCard can be debited by prior arrangement.
Website: www.ausraptor.org.au
The aims of the Association are the study, conservation and management of diurnal and
nocturnal raptors of the Australasian Faunal Region.
CONTENTS: BOOBOOK 26(1) 2008
From the President
Editorial
Reports and News:
The new Australian bird checklist
1
2
3
Raptor File:
Yet more on DNA taxonomy of eagles
New owls in Australasia
4
4
Articles:
Home range, habitat use and diet of the Tasmanian Masked Owl
5
Field Notes:
Sea-Eagle takes Platypus
Opportunistic Sparrowhawk
Suburban Swamp Harrier
Little Eagles in New England, NSW
Peregrine at sea
Ospreys breeding in Sydney
Prey of Wedge-tailed Eagle in western Queensland
6
6
6
7
7
8
8
Book and DVD Reviews:
Owls (Strigiformes): Annotated and Illustrated Checklist
DVDs: Birds of Prey; Red Goshawk; Shadows in the Desert
8
10
Literature:
Journals
Books
Theses
Selected bibliography: Australian diurnal raptors
12
17
17
17
International news:
Raptors drowning in stock tanks
23
Volume 25
24
Index:
Boobook 26(1) August 2008
1
FROM THE PRESIDENT
Greetings fellow raptorphiles!
It is less than one month now until the ARA’s national conference. Remember it is being held in
Coffs Harbour on the weekend of 30–31 August, with a post-conference tour being organised for
the Monday afterwards. So I would like to devote this column to encouraging you to attend and
register early. A conference registration form is enclosed with this edition of Boobook, which you
can fill out and send today, and post directly to Birds Australia. Rod Kavanagh, NSW ARA
Representative, has done a sterling job organising speakers and session presenters, and we have a
good array of topics covering owls and diurnal raptors in both Australia and New Zealand. Each
speaker promises to be both entertaining as well as informative. Student posters have also been
registered, and I have to say from my personal experience that if your abstract is not accepted for a
spoken paper then poster presentations can in fact be a better way to meet people interested in your
field. So do not despair. A booklet of abstracts will be provided to conference attendees upon
arrival.
Rod is also keen to ensure that people get involved with some interactive sessions so it won’t be all
‘chalk and talk’. There will be opportunities to actively learn as well, plus meet people actively
involved in raptor conservation and research.
At this stage a formal conference dinner has not been organised, and so it is expected that with the
range of species and interest groups attending, people will break off into these groups for dinner.
However, if sufficient numbers of conference attendees wish to have a combined dinner then I am
sure it will be possible to book a venue to cater for us all, where tall tales of the loudest Barking
Owl call or the biggest Sea-Eagle to ever be banded will be swapped well into the wee hours of the
morning.
So if you are wondering who makes up the ARA, and whatever happened to Nick Mooney’s erudite
Boobook commentaries, or what interesting raptor conservation projects are happening in the
region, then come to the ARA conference and get to meet the key raptor people in Australasia and
enjoy a conference with a difference!
With the grey winter we are having in Victoria, a few days off in Coffs Harbour on the sunny NSW
north coast seems like a great idea! A wide range of accommodation options is available, and the
registration form has a weblink to the local tourist bureau with lists of accommodation options.
So please, do yourself a favour, register and register early. I look forward to seeing you there and
discussing how you can get more involved with the ARA.
Victor Hurley
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
2
Boobook 26(1) August 2008
EDITORIAL
Well, you were warned. There was no Boobook 25(2), for lack of sufficient original material, and
I’ve barely managed to scrape together a 26(1) in time for the ARA conference in August, by
including a bibliography of recent work on diurnal raptors to pad it out. Even so, this issue is 24
instead of the usual/desired 28 pages. There probably won’t be a 26(2) unless there are sufficient
abstracts from the conference, and people actually watch raptors and record what the birds are
doing, by way of noteworthy incidents of predation or other behaviour.
In Boobook the emphasis should be firmly on Australasian raptors. We all know that raptors are
still persecuted in the UK, Europe and North America; that California Condors are perilously
endangered and require captive breeding; that falconry and raptor hospitals are all the rage in the
Middle East (with heavy exploitation of Sakers); that Peregrines are recovering but are still the holy
grail or sacred cow of raptor research and conservation overseas; that various overseas raptors are
being reintroduced to former parts of their range; that many windfarms chop up many raptors
overseas; that diclofenac is exterminating vultures; that there are many Peregrine webcams; and so
on, and on… But what about our own backyard? We should be researching and publishing on our
own Aussie raptors, in particular our special endemics. The bibliography on pp. 17–22 is therefore
a benchmark, indicating that we still have a long way to go with even basic ecological or natural
history research on many of the endemic species in Australia, let alone the regional endemics in
tropical parts of the region.
In this issue we have a few newsy or Raptor File items (the new Australian bird checklist, DNA
taxonomy again, some new owls in the region); an article on the Tasmanian Masked Owl; a (very)
few field notes; two recycled reviews (to help fill it); and recent literature citations, as well as the
aforementioned bibliography and a small international news item of local relevance. Birding-Aus is
now woeful as a source of potential field notes; it seems the twitching or ticking malaise has really
set in, as if accumulating ‘ticks’ is the be-all and end-all of birdwatching. (Not that there’s anything
wrong with listing, as long as the data go into a database such as the Atlas).
There is a bit of good news. I heard that the CSIRO research on the White-bellied Sea-Eagle in the
Top End (NT), reported in the early 1980s, is nearing publication, with two papers (on diet and
breeding) in preparation. Hopefully the same applies to their Barking Owl work. I also heard that
someone is finding Red Goshawk nests and banding nestlings in the north, but details are under
wraps for now. It also looks like we might manage a special issue of Corella on White-bellied SeaEagles this year (as for Wedge-tailed Eagles last year), consisting of two honours theses and related
papers emanating from Tasmania. A Masters thesis on Wedge-tails, from southern Victoria, will
also make two papers in Corella.
Some other news is that the Little Eagle has been listed as vulnerable in the ACT. See p. 5 for an
appeal for information on the situation in Victoria and NSW.
I appeal again for Area Reps to find out what their state members are doing, and please provide a
report (annually would be good!) for Boobook. There won’t be another Boobook until you, the
members, contribute to it. I’ve run out of ways to carry it, and of material to fill it. Even the supply
of field notes was exhausted with this issue, with only a trickle arriving. Surely there must be
notebooks full of valuable anecdotes.
Stephen Debus
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
Boobook 26(1) August 2006
3
REPORTS AND NEWS
The new Australian bird checklist: outcomes for Australasian raptors
The newly released official checklist for Australian birds (Christidis & Boles 2008, Systematics and
Taxonomy of Australian Birds, CSIRO, Melbourne), now being adopted by the Australian bird societies for
use in their publications, contains some changes for the Australian diurnal raptors and owls, and some
consequences for raptors and owls elsewhere in the Australasian region. The hawks (Accipitridae, including
the Osprey) are raised to order level, as Order Accipitriformes, separate from the Order Falconiformes,
which now contains only the falcons and close allies (Falconidae). Changes to the hawks are as follow.
 The Australasian Osprey population is raised to species rank as the Eastern Osprey Pandion cristatus.
 The Oriental Honey-buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus is added to the Australian list.
 Sanford’s Sea-Eagle (formerly Haliaeetus sanfordi) of the Solomons is demoted to a subspecies of the
White-bellied Sea-Eagle, and thus becomes H. leucogaster sanfordi.
 The Collared Sparrowhawk loses an ‘h’ in its scientific name, to reflect the original spelling (Accipiter
cirrocephalus).
 The Grey Goshawk Accipiter novaehollandiae in the strict sense becomes an Australian endemic, and
the populations from Wallacea to the Solomons are raised to species rank as the Variable Goshawk A.
hiogaster. The latter also takes in the Christmas Island Goshawk as A. hiogaster natalis, and the Greythroated Goshawk of the Moluccas (which becomes A.h. griseogularis). Consequently, the distribution
of the Brown Goshawk A. fasciatus no longer includes Christmas Island.
 The White-eyed Buzzard Butastur teesa is retained on the supplementary list (i.e. unconfirmed).
[Though in my opinion it could have been dropped altogether, as a specimen of obviously incorrect
provenance –Ed.]
 The Papuan Harrier becomes a subspecies of the Swamp Harrier Circus approximans, rather than the
Eastern Marsh Harrier C. spilonotus.
 Gurney’s Eagle is classified as a vagrant to Torres Strait islands (meaning that reports for the Australian
mainland remain to be documented properly). Aquila and Hieraaetus are retained as separate genera.
 The Little Eagle Hieraaetus morphnoides in the strict sense becomes an Australian endemic, with H.
weiskei of New Guinea raised to species rank [Papuan Booted Eagle would be an appropriate English
name].
There are no changes to the falcons, except for a slight adjustment of the list sequence to better reflect
evolutionary relationships. The Eurasian Hobby Falco subbuteo is on the supplementary list, awaiting
convincing documentation for Australia.








The Australian and New Zealand Boobooks are expressly combined under one species (Ninox
novaeseelandiae), as in HANZAB.
The Christmas Island Hawk-Owl is raised to species rank as Ninox natalis, as in HANZAB.
The Ninox forms in the Moluccas constitute at least two separate species: N. squamipila and N.
hypogramma (see p. 4, below).
The Buffy Fish-Owl (formerly Ketupa ketupu), vagrant to the Cocos (Keeling) Islands, becomes Bubo
ketupu.
The Lesser Sooty Owl is demoted to s subspecies of the Sooty Owl, and thus becomes Tyto tenebricosa
multipunctata.
The tropical island forms of the Masked Owl are demoted to subspecies of the Masked Owl, and thus
become Tyto novaehollandiae sororcula (Wallacea) and T.n. manusi (Admiralty Is). The Tasmanian
Masked Owl stays as a subspecies, i.e. T.n. castanops.
The populations of the Barn Owl from southern Asia to the Pacific are raised to species rank as the
Eastern Barn Owl Tyto javanica.
The Asian and Australasian populations of the Grass Owl are raised to species rank as the Eastern Grass
Owl Tyto longimembris, separate from the African Grass Owl T. capensis.
Stephen Debus
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
4
Boobook 26(1) August 2008
RAPTOR FILE
Yet more on DNA taxonomy of eagles
Further to the subject (Boobook 25: 9), Haring et al. (2007) similarly conclude that Bonelli’s and African
Hawk-Eagles (formerly Hieraaetus) belong in Aquila; that Cassin’s Hawk-Eagle (formerly Spizaetus) also
belongs in Aquila; that Wedge-tailed and Gurney’s Eagles are sister species; that the Rufous-bellied Eagle
(formerly Hieraaetus) deserves its own monotypic genus Lophotriorchis; that ‘Ictinaetus’ clusters with the
spotted eagles (Lophaetus); and that the Asian ‘Spizaetus’ should be separated as Nisaetus, and South
American Spizaetus (in the strict sense) should take in ‘Oroaetus’. These results provide further support for
the suggested taxonomic revision of the Australasian booted eagles (see Boobook 25: 9).
If ‘Ichthyophaga’ is nested within the southern group of fish-eagles Haliaeetus (as found by Lerner &
Mindell 2005), then generic allocation should reflect this relationship and thus the Lesser Fishing-Eagle of
Wallacea (and Grey-headed Fishing-Eagle if confirmed in Wallacea) would become Haliaeetus humilis and
H. ichthyaetus respectively. However, if the ‘northern’ sea-eagles (Bald, White-tailed, Pallas’s and Steller’s)
and the ‘southern’ fish-eagles (White-bellied and others) warrant generic separation, as suggested by Lerner
& Mindell, then the available genus name for the southern group is Cuncuma Hodgson 1837. The latest
Australian checklist (see p. 3, above) demotes Sanford’s Sea-Eagle (of the Solomon Islands) to a subspecies
of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle, on the DNA evidence of Lerner & Mindell and others (see Boobook 24: 8).
Thus, if these changes become official, the outcome for Australasian sea- and fish-eagles is as follows.
 Haliaeetus leucogaster would become Cuncuma leucogaster
 Haliaetus sanfordi would become Cuncuma leucogaster sanfordi
 Ichthyophaga humilis would become Cuncuma humilis
 Ichthyophaga ichthyaetus would become Cuncuma ichthyaetus
The two clusters of sea- and fish-eagles fall out neatly according to morphology as well as distribution and
migratory versus resident habits: large, fairly uniform species with plain white tails and large yellow bills
(northern temperate Haliaeetus), versus small to medium-sized, strongly ‘pied’ species with (often)
bicoloured tails and grey bills (tropical to southern temperate Cuncuma). However, Pallas’s Fish-Eagle is
morphologically intermediate (with bicoloured tail and grey bill), although genetically in the northern group.
Haring, E., Kvaløy, K., Gjershaug, J.-O., Røv, N. & Gamauf, A. 2007. Convergent evolution and paraphyly of the
hawk-eagles of the genus Spizaetus (Aves, Accipitridae) – phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial markers.
Journal of Zoological, Systematic and Evolutionary Research 45: 353–365.
Lerner, H.R.L. & Mindell, D.P. 2005. Phylogeny of eagles, Old World vultures, and other Accipitridae based on
nuclear and mitochondrial DNA. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 37: 327–346.
Stephen Debus
New owls in Australasia
Following taxonomic and field (acoustic) studies, the Brown Hawk-Owl has been split into three species: the
resident Brown Boobook Ninox scutulata of southern Asia, the resident Chocolate Boobook N. randi of the
Philippines, and the migratory Northern Boobook N. japonica of east Asia (King 2002). The latter,
migratory form is a vagrant to Australia. Similarly, the Moluccan Hawk-Owl has been split into three
species: Hantu Hawk-Owl N. squamipila on Seram and Buru (single-note call; two subspecies: N.s.
squamipila and N.s. hantu), Halmahera Hawk-Owl or Boobook N. hypogramma, and Tanimbar Hawk-Owl
or Boobook N. forbesi (the last two species with double-note calls: Rheindt & Hutchinson 2007).
King, B. 2002. Species limits in the Brown Boobook Ninox scutulata complex. Bulletin British Ornithologists Club
122: 250–257.
Rheindt, F.E. & Hutchinson, R.O. 2007. A photoshot odyssey through the confused taxonomy of Seram and Buru.
Birding Asia 7: 18–38.
Stephen Debus
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
Boobook 26(1) August 2006
5
ARTICLES
Home range, habitat use and diet of the Endangered Tasmanian Masked Owl
Tasmania’s forests are home to the Tasmanian Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae castanops: a large,
endemic, hollow-dependent forest owl that is currently listed as Endangered on the Tasmanian Threatened
Species Protection Act 1995. The major threats to Masked Owls are the loss of old-growth forests (that are
needed for nesting) as a result of commercial forestry operations, land-clearing for agriculture and
urbanisation, firewood collection and natural attrition (Bell et al. 1997).
I recently radio-tracked two female Masked Owls in the Huon Valley, at Crabtree and Mountain River, to
assess their home-range size, their most frequently used habitats and their diet, as little is known. The homerange size or territory for each owl was approximately 1800–2500 hectares in a highly modified agricultural
area. The home ranges consisted of a mosaic of forest and open pasture, and were situated primarily on
private property. Both the radio-tagged owls preferred to forage in fairly small patches of forest (0–20 ha),
with a sparse or no understorey. However, they roosted during the day in larger forest patches (20–100 ha),
with a dense understorey, adjacent to small creeks or drainage lines, which highlights the importance of
streamside reserves for conserving Masked Owl habitat in Tasmania.
The diet of both owls was assessed by collecting regurgitated pellets from their roost sites, as this is where
most pellets accumulate. Eastern Barred Bandicoots Perameles gunnii were the most important species in
the diet, closely followed by Swamp Rats Rattus lutreolus. Introduced species such as Black Rats Rattus
rattus and Rabbits Oryctolagus cuniculus were also important dietary components.
The apparent preference displayed by the radio-tagged owls for forest edges and highly modified forest–
pasture mosaic suggests that Masked Owls may benefit from habitat fragmentation, owing to an increase in
productive foraging habitat. However, the high mortality rates associated with these urbanised environments
probably counteract this beneficial effect.
This project was conducted through the Zoology Department, University of Tasmania, in collaboration with
the Tasmanian Threatened Species Section, Nature Conservation Branch, DPIW.
Bell, P., Mooney, N. & Wiersma, J. (1997). Predicting Essential Habitat for Forest Owls in Tasmania. Report to the
Tasmanian Regional Forest Agreement Environment and Heritage Committee.
David Young
…summarised from Young, D. (2006), Home range, habitat use and diet of two female Tasmanian Masked
Owls. BSc Hons thesis, University of Tasmania.
*************
REQUESTS FOR ASSISTANCE
Little Eagle
A request for Victorian birders: I’ve had an enquiry regarding possible declines in populations of the Little
Eagle (in Victoria), and am interested to hear what people’s thoughts are on populations of this species in
Victoria. In particular, whether anyone has evidence/observations of locations where they used to see Little
Eagles and now see none. It’s worth noting that the ACT has recently declared the Little Eagle a
‘vulnerable’ species in that jurisdiction. I understand that this listing was largely based on a crash in the
population in the ACT. Please advise me directly of your thoughts. Thank you. –Martin O’Brien,
Threatened Species & Communities Section, Dept Sustainability & Environment, PO Box 500, East
Melbourne, Vic. 3002. Ph 03 9637 9869, email Martin.O’[email protected]
….And I’d be interested in any comments on the NSW situation, too. Thanks. –Ed.
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
6
Boobook 26(1) August 2008
Tiwi Masked Owl
As a new ARA member I am conducting a study into the general ecology, population dynamics and effects
of forestry on the Tiwi subspecies of Masked Owl Tyto novaehollandiae melvillensis. One of the major
challenges is that I get only one go at catching each owl before it figures out that the calls I am playing are
not from a real owl. Once that happens it won’t come near. However, I have been recording their calls when
possible, and if a less than naïve bird hears calls it hasn’t heard before (or its own) then I have a second
chance. I would appreciate hearing from people who have recordings of Masked Owls, or who have any
thoughts on the problem. (I have been broadcasting the BOCA CD of owl calls.) Thank you. –James
Smith, Indicus Biological Consultants, PO Box 1203, Nightcliff, NT 0814. Ph. 08 8411 0350, email
[email protected]
*************
FIELD NOTES
Sea-Eagle takes Platypus
On 10 August 2007, at Lake Barrine near Atherton in far north Queensland, Ellen Tyrrell and a group of
birdwatchers saw a White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster take a Platypus Ornithorhynchus
anatinus from the shallows. The eagle dived three or four times, swooping so closely it caused the Platypus
to splash as it dived to safety. On the last swoop the Platypus was hauled out of the water, then taken,
wriggling, to the top of a tall tree where it was eaten.
John Seale
(per Trish Teesdale, BOCA)
…First record of Platypus as Sea-Eagle prey (cf. HANZAB 2), though to be expected. (Ed.)
Opportunistic Sparrowhawk
On 6 July 2007 at Marrawah (Tas.), while driving on the Arthur River road, I found an injured Green Rosella
Platycercus caledonicus in the middle of the road. I tried to capture the bird with an item of clothing thrown
over it, but the bird wriggled partly out from underneath the garment. As I bent down to cover the Rosella
again, there was a flash of feathers and talons from my left and the Rosella was gone, carried into some pine
trees to my right by a small raptor with a barred chest. The hawk was little bigger than the Rosella, and
therefore a Collared Sparrowhawk Accipiter cirrocephalus.
Geoff King
(per Nick Mooney)
Suburban Swamp Harrier
I live in the beachside suburb of Kingston Beach (Tas.), which slopes fairly steeply down to the Derwent
estuary and is effectively a completely built-up area. For the second summer now (2007) we have had a
Swamp Harrier Circus approximans regularly foraging over the gardens and rooftops; we see it several times
a day flying in typical Swampy fashion not far above the roofs. I haven’t seen it catch anything yet, but I
wondered if other observers have any records of Swampies foraging in the suburbs. HANZAB doesn’t
mention anything similar. Responses welcome.
Alastair Richardson
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
Boobook 26(1) August 2006
7
Little Eagles in New England, NSW
As an update on an observational study conducted in 2006 (see Debus et al. 2007, Aust. Field Ornithology
24: 137–157), I was able to make a few casual observations on the same pairs of Little Eagles Hieraaetus
morphnoides in the Armidale district of the NSW Northern Tablelands in 2007. Of five monitored pairs that
nested in spring 2007, four pairs pair each raised a single fledgling, or 0.8 young per pair (but the average
over the 2 years was six young in 10 attempts, or 0.6 young per attempt: little over half that in the 1980s).
Three of the juveniles in 2007 appeared to be males, and one was unsexed. By 2006 there were several
unpaired territorial males, and most of the apparent ‘floaters’ intruding on occupied territories also appeared
to be males, in contrast with the situation in 1980 when all known territories were occupied by pairs, and
some of the intruding ‘floaters’ were females. In other words, in this region there now appears to be a
shortage of females, and those pairs that breed successfully seem to be raising more male than female
offspring (a feature of poor food conditions in some other eagle species). In 2007, one of the Armidale
males appeared to have lost his mate; in 2006, when that pair nested unsuccessfully, the female had a husky
voice (a symptom of ill health?). A female chick that died in 2006 had a respiratory problem. All these
aspects, taken together, may be symptoms of a population in decline.
Two pairs, that had tolerated discreet observation from ~100 m away by telescope in 2006, used the same
nests again in 2007. One pair that did not tolerate unconcealed observation from the maximal unobstructed
viewing distance (120 m), and hence the nesting female was inadvertently flushed several times, was
successful in 2006 but used a different nest in 2007. One other nesting female was flushed several times by
birdwatchers and, though successful in 2006, also used a different nest in 2007. These shifts of nest site may
have been related to disturbance during the 2006 nesting events.
In 2007, at one of the nests with a new fledgling still sheltering in the woodland canopy, the adult male was
soaring high overhead, and repeatedly gave a strident squeal or wail as a Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax
soared higher and farther away. This agitated type of call is commonly given when intruding Wedge-tailed
Eagles appear. At one of the Armidale nests, about a month after fledging, the juvenile was soaring ~1 km
from the nest, and practiced a few stoops by suddenly dropping vertically, head first with its wings closed,
then pulling out to soar again and repeat the manoeuvre.
A local female Little Eagle in rehab for release, in the care of Gisela Kaplan (WIRES), was very large.
Although at the high end of the known weight range (1250 g), this bird’s tarsus was too thick for the
recommended ABBBS band size. I could see when I tried to close a size 13 band on her leg that it would be
too tight to fit comfortably and swivel freely, and that she would need a size 14 (which I didn’t have, so she
went unbanded). Was she just exceptional, or are Little Eagles getting larger and/or more size-dimorphic, at
least in some respects?
Below one of the Armidale nests in 2007–08 were the remains of a juvenile Noisy Miner Manorina
melanocephala, a new local prey record. At a nest west of Armidale in spring 2007, in extensive box–
ironbark woodland, the incubating female was giving food-begging calls to the incoming, food-bearing male.
As he manoeuvred to land on the nest, his prey was seen to be a small, chunky mammal with a fairly short,
curved tail: too large, and the tail too robust, to have been a House Mouse, and too small and short-tailed to
have been a Black Rat. Of the possible local species, his prey can only have been a Yellow-footed
Antechinus Antechinus flavipes: a common mammal in that habitat type, sometimes active in daytime, and a
new prey record for the Little Eagle. The female quickly ate the prey (possibly swallowed it whole), then
called for more as the male soared away.
Stephen Debus
Peregrine at sea
On 15 March 2008 at ~1100 h, a lone Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus flew east-bound over a yacht 88 km
north-east of Sydney Heads (NSW), or 48 km due east of the coast at Gosford.
Philip Brook, Birding-Aus 14.03.2008 (per Shirley Cook)
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
8
Boobook 26(1) August 2008
Ospreys breeding in Sydney
A pair of Eastern Ospreys Pandion cristatus has tried for two seasons to breed in a Norfolk Pine near the
Narrabeen Lagoon entrance, in the northern beach suburbs of Sydney, NSW (see Boobook 25: 14). Both
times they were unsuccessful: in the first year the nest appeared to collapse, in the second year they
abandoned the nest between late September and early October 2006. In 2007 they changed their nest site to
a dead eucalypt on Middle Creek, which flows into the inland side of the lagoon. The male brought fish to
the female at the nest. On 5 October a chick’s head appeared above the rim of the nest. Although I earlier
suspected that there may have been two chicks, by 20 October there was only one chick. By that stage it was
large but with little tail, and its wings and body were covered in brown pinfeathers. When the female was
not brooding, it was clambering around the nest, even up on to the rim, stretching its wings and looking
around. The single chick fledged sometime between 14 and 21 September. On the 14th it was nest-bound,
and on the 21st it flew to the nest from a nearby tree. According to Alan Morris, this is the first successful
breeding of Ospreys in the Sydney region.
Bruce Cox, Birding-Aus 6.10.07, 26.10.2007 and 23.11.2007
(per Shirley Cook and Greg Clancy)
…Signs of a southward expansion of breeding range? (Ed.)
Prey of Wedge-tailed Eagle in western Queensland
Under a Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax nest in Diamantina National Park, western Qld, in June 2007 were
several pellets and prey remains that represented two juvenile Red Kangaroos Macropus rufus and one Little
Black Cormorant Phalacrocorax sulcirostris. Two of the pellets measured 85 × 51 mm and 39 × 30 mm;
another (42 × 28 mm) was a mass of masticated herbage, i.e. the stomach contents of one of the kangaroos. I
thank Tony Rose for analysing the pellets.
Andrew Ley
*************
BOOK AND DVD REVIEWS
Owls (Strigiformes): Annotated and Illustrated Checklist by Friedhelm Weick. Springer, Berlin, 2006.
Hardcover, 350 pp, 63 line drawings, 23 colour paintings. Є128.35.
This is a global list of owl taxa in systematic order by subspecies. Weick is a professional wildlife artist, and
amateur ornithologist (with a professional approach). This list is that of a classical museum taxonomist,
though selectively taking into account some recent DNA data. The Foreword by Wolfgang Scherzinger is
largely a justification of the need for taxonomic studies, and a defence of Weick’s classical (morphological)
approach. The Foreword, Introduction and plate captions are in English and in German.
The contents list provides a tabulation of the owl species recognised, and their generic allocations. A list of
terms, abbreviations and acronyms provides a key to those used in the text. The Introduction provides the
rationale for the checklist and its features, and a plan of the book. The section Owls: a brief overview
canvasses a few taxonomic problems, mainly certain genus or species limits, and notes a mystery Ninox
specimen; it concludes with a table of owl families, subfamilies, tribes, genera and subgenera (as recognised
by Weick).
Part II is the main body of the work: a full taxonomic listing of owl species and their subspecies, with author
and date for each taxon and any synonyms for each. For each species, its length, body mass, distribution and
habitat are given. For each subspecies or monotypic species, the type locality and abbreviated reference to
its description are given, along with its distribution, the locations of specimens, remarks (on taxonomic or
morphological issues), relevant measurements, sources of published illustrations, and references.
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
Boobook 26(1) August 2006
9
Part III is a series of line drawings of a selection of species, from most genera, in flight to show wing shape.
The accompanying Part IV is a tabulated selection of measurements illustrating intrageneric variation in
wing-tip shape, with diagrams illustrating owl topography and how the wing formula is calculated.
However, the discussion of wing formulae could have included a commentary on wing-tip shape or length in
migratory versus resident congeners, or perch-hunters versus flight-hunters, or owls of open versus closed
habitats (cf. Part III), to give it some ecological relevance and context.
Part V is a series of colour plates illustrating owls described or rediscovered in the past 20 years, each with
one or two related (mostly sympatric, similar) species for comparison. The most intriguing is Ninox dubiosa
sp. nov. Weick 2006, dubbed (unfortunately) ‘Dubious Hawk Owl’, from a specimen with no data. Almost
certainly of Australasian and possibly Wallacean origin, one might suggest that it is a dark morph of a
described species except that its bodily proportions do not match any known Ninox. Clearly, this specimen
requires DNA analysis to establish its closest relatives. Part V finishes with plates showing the range of
variation (morphs and subspecies) in the Great Horned Owl complex.
The book finishes with a list of references (mostly cited in the text, though some not), comprehensive
indexes of owl scientific and vernacular names (English, German, French and Spanish), and geographic
locations.
A current checklist of this nature is of great value to taxonomists and to enthusiasts interested in the global
variation and zoogeography of owls. However, the value of such would be greatly increased if the author
placed more weight on the latest DNA evidence. Weick is a splitter at the species level, based largely on his
opinion from morphological comparisons, and many of his generic (and some higher-level) allocations
contradict the DNA evidence. Thus, this checklist is in some respects a backward step.
To take some overseas genera, the DNA evidence reveals that, for instance, Megascops is generically distinct
from Otus; that Ptilopsis is asionine not otine; that Scotopelia, Ketupa and Nyctea are nested within Bubo;
that Phalaenopsis is generically distinct from Glaucidium (and so too, probably, is Taenioglaux); and that
Ninox superciliaris belongs in Athene (see Wink & Heidrich in Konig et al. 1999, Owls, A Guide to the Owls
of the World; Penhallurick 2002 in Newton et al., Ecology and Conservation of Owls; Wink et al. 2004 in
Chancellor and Meyburg, Raptors Worldwide). Yet Weick has none of this, and asserts that superciliaris is a
Ninox. Furthermore, if these genera are correctly allocated according to DNA, some interesting
zoogeographic and phylogenetic patterns emerge, such as the radiation of various sections of the Strigidae on
different Gondwanan continents.
To take the Australasian species, the Australian Barn Owl is correctly separated as Tyto delicatula (including
javanica and sumbaensis, cf. Wink et al. 2004), but Weick raises the form crassirostris of the Bismarck
Archipelago to species rank on purely morphological grounds while pronouncing that most other forms in
Melanesia and Polynesia are, or probably are, inseparable from delicatula. Higgins (1999, HANZAB vol. 4)
is not cited except on Ninox natalis, and was apparently ignored on taxonomic aspects of other species, with
the result that Weick speculates, on inadequate evidence, that Ninox rufa meesi is just a pale morph of N.r.
queenslandica, synonymises Tyto novaehollandiae melvillensis with T.n. kimberli without justification, and
keeps Ninox connivens occidentalis separate when it is synonymous with N.c. peninsularis. On the other
hand, he missed or ignored the DNA evidence that the sooty owls are one species (cf. Norman et al. 2002,
Proceedings of the Royal Society of London, B, Biological Sciences 269, 2127–2133). On the boobooks,
Weick gives Ninox leucopsis (Tasmania) and the novaeseelandiae (trans-Tasman) forms species rank
separate from mainland boobook, contra HANZAB and Penhallurick (2002). As the message about this
misinterpretation of the DNA evidence is not getting through (e.g. see Olsen & Debus 2006, Corella 29, 97–
98), it is worth quoting Penhallurick (2002, footnote xii, quoting L. Christidis) here in the hope that it finally
reaches an international audience:
In these papers the Tasmanian Boobook Owl samples were included to represent the Australian Boobook. There
was never any suggestion that the mainland and Tasmanian Boobooks were different species. We are in the process
of writing up our data on variation in the Australian forms of boobook, mainland and Tasmanian, and there is no
suggestion that they are different species. So far as the molecular data [are] concerned, Australia (including
Tasmania), Norfolk Island and New Zealand share one species of Boobook Owl, Ninox novaeseelandiae.
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
10
Boobook 26(1) August 2008
Nowhere does Weick cite or list Newton et al. (2002) although it contains several taxonomic papers. Part of
the problem with Weick’s treatment of Australian owls is that he does not provide or review the extensive
mensural data, by subspecies, from HANZAB or acknowledge its comprehensive sections on geographical
variation. A related problem is that it is not clear whether, at least for well-known species, Weick’s mensural
data include published sources, or whether for all taxa they are only data Weick gleaned from (only or
mainly Northern Hemisphere?) museum specimens. One suspects the latter, because there are published data
(sometimes extensive) where Weick often gives few or no data. Furthermore, for Australian owls there are
specimens in many more Australian capital-city museums than Weick lists for the respective species. The
weights he gives for the Barking and mainland Masked Owl are too low, being for tropical specimens,
because he missed the published weights for southern birds; and Ninox rufa queenslandica is not the same
size as meesi (cf. HANZAB).
On some other Australasian taxa, Weick missed that photographs of most Melanesian taxa are in Coates
(1985, Birds of Papua New Guinea), and that photos of T. (novaehollandiae) castanops and T. longimembris
papuensis are in Fleay (1968, Nightwatchmen of Bush and Plain). He attributes a Hollands (1991, Birds of
the Night) photo of a Masked Owl to castanops, but it is a dark morph of mainland novaehollandiae;
Hollands’ photos of the Rufous Owl are queenslandica, not rufa. Weick treats T. castanops and T.
longimembris (cf. T. capensis) as full species, but Wink et al. (2004) do not provide a definitive statement on
what the DNA evidence actually shows. Surprisingly, Weick missed the opportunity and justification to split
Ninox scutulata into three species (cf. King 2002, Bulletin of the British Ornithologists Club 122, 250–257).
A quick scan of the text for overseas taxa reveals various problems. The Barn Owl taxon furcata is said to
have ‘long legs and powerful feet’ and to be ‘much larger than pratincola’, but this claim is contradicted by
Weick’s own mensural data that show furcata is within the range of the latter for wing, tail and tarsus but
lacks data for bill and mass. Thus, one wonders how many others of Weick’s taxonomic decisions are
similarly subjective; for instance, elevation of several Barn Owl island taxa to species rank. It is high time
that issues such as Wallacean Tyto taxa, canvassed for nearly a decade now since previous global treatments,
were settled by DNA comparisons.
Occasionally, it is not clear what Weick is referring to in his ‘Remarks’ section; for instance, on Sceloglaux
he says ‘The wings are too short, and tail projection too long in this image’, but is he referring to his own
drawing on that page, or to the last-mentioned illustration (in del Hoyo et al. 1999, Handbook of the Birds of
the World vol. 5) listed in the preceding paragraph? In the electronic age the reference list seems not fully up
to date, except that Weick’s own works up to 2005 are cited.
I hesitate to be so critical, but Weick’s treatment of Australasian taxa is unsatisfactory at times. The book
would have benefited from a check and edit by an owl scientist. Nevertheless, it makes an invaluable
contribution to knowledge of owls and is indispensable to owl biologists, particularly those dealing with
taxonomy.
Stephen Debus
…reprinted from Emu 107(4), 2007: 337–343.
DVD series, Australian Birding Video Guides: Birds of Prey Parts 1 & 2 (2004); John Young and the
Search for the Red Goshawk (2004); Shadows in the Desert (2006), all by John Young. John Young
Wildlife Enterprises, Toowoong (Brisbane).
Birds of Prey parts 1 and 2 cover between them 16 species, so presumably there is or was to be a part 3, for
the remaining eight species, that has apparently been upstaged by Red Goshawk and Shadows (which is
ostensibly on the Grey Falcon). The ‘Birding’ series is supposed to be an identification guide, with each
species segment arranged under the headings Size, Range, Habitat, Description, Food, Breeding, Voice, and
sometimes Similar Species and/or a Summary (which isn’t a summary of the preceding narrative). The
commentary and presentation are amateurish, the narratives are littered with inaccurate or misleading
information (even on some identification points, let alone biology), and there is no logical sequence to how
the species are arranged on each disk or between disks. For instance, it would have made sense to juxtapose
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
Boobook 26(1) August 2006
11
similar species on the tracks and to group them taxonomically. The Sea-Eagle is mislabelled ‘Latin [name]:
Elanus scriptus’, duplicating the Letter-winged Kite’s scientific name (and scientific names can of course be
Greek or Latin). In many cases the description of voice is limited to calls heard at the nest (as on the disk
sound-track), and omits the typical calls most commonly heard in the field. Within each species segment
there is often repeated footage (i.e. poor editing), and in some cases the ‘similar species’ category is wanting;
for the Osprey the camera was too close to the nest, thus distorting the bird’s proportions. Of most concern
is the cameraman’s presence preventing the parent Wedge-tailed Eagle from delivering food to the nest.
On identification, the commentary says that the Letter-winged Kite’s black eye marking is an ‘abbreviated
comma’ (not a full circle, cf. Black-shouldered Kite); omits Black-breasted Buzzard as a similar species for
the Wedge-tailed Eagle and Square-tailed Kite; claims that the Wedge-tailed Eagle’s best-known call is a
‘cat-like screech when disturbed’ (!); says that the Brown Falcon’s plumage is variable and can be mistaken
for several other species (but doesn’t elaborate further); gives the Little Eagle as one of the Sea-Eagle’s
similar species; and emphasises that tail shape is one criterion for distinguishing the Square-tailed from the
Black Kite. On biology, for instance, we get the tired old chestnut about the Peregrine being the fastest etc.
at 300 km/hr; the Letter-winged Kite ‘lines’ its nest with rat fur (implying more than just pellet debris); the
Wedge-tailed Eagle is ‘mostly unsuccessful’ when hunting live prey; the Brown Falcon ‘renovates’ old
nests; the Kestrel ‘often’ has successive broods; the Black-shouldered Kite lays ‘dull white’ eggs; the Grey
Falcon takes ‘most’ of its prey on the ground, and ‘relines its nest with animal hair’; and the Brahminy Kite
‘never flocks’, ‘seldom takes live prey’, and the female ‘does all the incubating and brooding’. In short, the
footage is a useful aid to identification but for accurate, authoritative information birders, especially
beginners, will need to consult the usual current field-guides and other recent books.
Red Goshawk is a lot about Young and his quest, with endless footage of vehicles, preparation, camping,
building of hides, etc., and precious little about the bird itself. Would that there was more commentary on
the Goshawk’s biology, and more lingering footage of the adult male. There is much repeated footage, some
with jumbled chrono-sequence with respect to the bird’s breeding cycle; the footage on nest-building and
other aspects could have done with some perceptive commentary on behaviour and sex-roles. There are
some useful facts, but much folklore or speculation is included apparently without consulting the
authoritative literature on the bird; one could hardly refer to a nesting ‘colony’ of Red Goshawks!
(Especially with distances of 11–22 km between neighbouring nests.) The narrative claims ‘days or weeks’
in the hide, but where is the footage to show for it? The narrative also claims that Young ‘studied’ the
species, but where’s the output in terms of contribution to knowledge? And as to Young’s 36th pair (which
must mean some knowledge of the species), and his continuing to search for and film the species, what’s the
point if there’s to be no better output than this DVD? True, what footage there is of the bird is valuable and
of interest, and one can infer a few things about its biology. However, of concern is the filming unconcealed
at close range, and the evident ‘gardening’ at the nest (i.e. removal of branches obstructing the filming).
Finally, I have trouble reconciling some statements. The film claims Young’s first encounter with a nesting
pair in the mountains of north-eastern New South Wales in the late 1960s, then later claims, conflictingly, his
first nest in southern Queensland in 1999. What, then, are we to make of the claim in Jack & Lindsay
Cupper’s book Hawks in Focus that Young found a nest with (improbably) three eggs in western NSW in the
early 1960s? (The last claim has been rejected in the scientific literature.)
Shadows is subtitled Unearthing the secrets of the desert and touted as a ‘wildlife film’. Unfortunately, it
scarcely does or is either: it is mostly Young doing the usual driving and camping things on his quest for the
Grey Falcon, with much buffoonery and flirting with his young female ‘protégé’. There is even some
tedious hamming it up, in a mock re-enactment of a ‘western’ style shoot-out in an outback town, that
occupies many valuable minutes of film time. Who, anticipating at least a little substance on the Grey
Falcon (if no more than for Red Goshawk), wants to see these sorts of time-wasters in a supposed wildlife
documentary? On raptors, the film includes much the same footage as in ‘Birds of Prey’ for the Peregrine
and Grey Falcons, and some of the same inaccurate information. As to the Grey Falcon, there are 10 minutes
at the end of, mostly, Young finally finding his nest, and a few good moments of film of the bird itself (but
virtually no worthwhile commentary on its biology). The Falcon’s rarity is overstated; if it took 15 years to
find and film a nest he must have been looking in the wrong places (it’s not a true desert bird). The narration
is more professional than in the other three DVDs, but at times rather sensationalised. There is some nice,
albeit brief, footage of Eyrean Grasswrens and some other wildlife, but overall the film is a big
disappointment.
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
12
Boobook 26(1) August 2008
These DVDs are not a patch on Young’s previous video, Wings of Silence, on the Australian owls (nor on the
earlier Roger Whittaker video series Hunters of the Skies). One wonders what direction his films are taking;
certainly not one for the better. I wouldn’t spend money on the DVDs, though the raptor footage is worth
watching (maybe with the sound muted and the junk scenes fast-forwarded) if one can borrow them from a
library.
Stephen Debus
…reprinted from Australian Field Ornithology 24(2): 84–85.
*************
RECENT LITERATURE
Journals
Animal Behaviour 74 2007
Coexistence of a generalist owl with its intraguild predator: distance-sensitive or habitat-mediated
avoidance? (F. Sergio et al.), 1607–1616.
Delayed plumage maturation in Eurasian Kestrels: female mimicry, subordination signalling or both? (P.
Vergara & J. Fargallo), 1505–1513 [both, depending on whether yearling males have started
moulting].
Agonistic behaviour prior to laying predicts clutch size in Eurasian Kestrels: an experiment with natural
decoys (P. Vergara et al.), 1515–1523.
Australian Field Ornithology 24 2007
Breeding biology and diet of the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax in the New England region of New South
Wales (S. Debus et al.), 93–120.
Breeding biology and diet of the Little Eagle Hieraaetus morphnoides in the New England region of New
South Wales (S. Debus et al.), 137–157.
Diurnal raptors on the island of Sumba, Indonesia, in June/July and December/January 2001–2002 (J. Olsen
& S. Trost), 158–166.
Australian Field Ornithology 25 2008
Southern Boobook Ninox novaeseelandiae pair feeding combined brood of six fledglings (J. Olsen et al.),
12–21.
Barking Owls holding partly eaten prey at diurnal roosts (J. Schoenjahn et al.), 36–39.
Australian Zoologist 34 2007
A survey of large forest owls in state forests of south-western New South Wales, Australia (D. Parker et al.),
78–84 [BarkingOwl].
The diet of the Southern Boobook Ninox novaeseelandiae in box–ironbark country, central Victoria (J.
Fitzsimons & A. Rose), 85–88.
Behavioural Ecology & Sociobiology 60 2006
Determinants of predation risk in small wintering birds: the hawk’s perspective (T. Roth et al.), 195–204.
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
Boobook 26(1) August 2006
13
Behavioral Ecology 16 2005
Selection for body size in a raptor with pronounced reversed sexual size dimorphism: are big females better?
(P. McDonald et al.), 48–56 [Brown Falcon].
Sex allocation and nestling survival in a dimorphic raptor: does size matter? (P. McDonald et al.), 922–930
[Brown Falcon].
Behavioral Ecology 18 2007
The importance of visual cues for nocturnal species: Eagle Owls signal by badge brightness (V. Penteriani et
al.), 143.
Breeding rate is associated with phaeomelanism in male and eumelanism in female Barn Owls (A. Roulin &
R. Altwegg), 563–570.
Biodiversity & Conservation 16 2007
Habitat use of Booted Eagles (Hieraaetus pennatus) in a special protection zone: implications for
conservation (J. Martínez et al.), 3481–3488.
Modelling habitat use and distribution of Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos in a low-density area of the
Iberian Peninsula (L. Tapia et al.), 3559–3574.
Biological Conservation 134 2007
Comparing radio-telemetry and transect survey data on Lesser Kestrels (A. Franco et al.), 96–105.
Biological Conservation 140 2008
Changes in bird species composition on a remote and well-forested Wallacean island, South-East Asia (C.
Trainor), 373–385.
Bird Conservation International 17 2007
Exterior nest boxes may negatively affect Barn Owl Tyto alba survival: an ecological trap (Á. Klein et al.),
273–281.
Bird Study 54 2007
Factors constraining the distribution of Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos in Scotland (D. Whitfield et al.),
199–211.
Marsh Harriers Circus aeruginosus target Teals Anas crecca at roosts according to potential availability of
vulnerable prey (M. Guillemain et al.), 268–270.
Bonelli’s Eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus juvenile dispersal: hourly and daily movements tracked by GPS (L.
Cadahía et al.), 271–274.
Population size, breeding performance and territory quality of Bonelli’s Eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus in
eastern Spain (P. López-López et al.), 335–342.
Increased hunting effort buffers against vole scarcity in an urban Kestrel Falco tinnunculus population (J.
Riegert et al.), 353–361.
Birding Asia 7 2007
A photoshot odyssey through the confused avian taxonomy of Seram and Buru (southern Moluccas) (F.
Rheindt & R. Hutchinson), 18–38 [Moluccan Hawk-Owl split into 3 species.]
Canadian Journal of Zoology 84 2006
Reply to comment by Franklin et al. on ‘Are survival rates for Northern Spotted Owls biased?’ (C. Loehle &
L. Irwin), 1380–1382. [See also the cited prior comment and paper.]
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
14
Boobook 26(1) August 2008
Canberra Bird Notes 32 2007
A Powerful Owl record for Canberra (A. Overs), 106–111.
Condor 108 2006
Does the presence of Barred Owls suppress the calling behavior of Spotted Owls? (M. Crozier et al.), 760–
769.
Condor 109 2007
Habitat selection in a changing environment: the relationship between habitat alteration and Spotted Owl
territory occupancy and breeding dispersal (M. Seamans & R. Gutiérrez), 566–576.
Corella 31 2007
Diet, occupancy and breeding success of Wedge-tailed Eagles Aquila audax near Canberra, Australia, 2002–
2003: four decades after Leopold and Wolfe (E. Fuentes et al.), 65–73.
Ecological Modelling 213 2008
Floater mortality within settlement areas can explain the Allee effect in breeding populations (V. Penteriani
et al.), 98–104 [Spanish Imperial Eagle].
Emu 107 2007
Home-range of the Powerful Owl (Ninox strenua) in dry sclerophyll forest (T. Soderquist & D. Gibbons),
177–184.
The tendon locking mechanism of owls: variation in the structure and arrangement of the mechanism and
functional implications (L. Einoder & A. Richardson), 223–230.
Distribution and status of the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) in South Australia (T. Dennis), 294–299.
Reproductive activity in the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) on Kangaroo Island, South Australia (T. Dennis),
300–307.
Environmental Toxicology & Chemistry 27 2008
Influence of contamination by organochlorine pesticides and polychlorinated biphenyls on the breeding of
the Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adelberti) (M. Hernández et al.), 433–441.
Forktail 23 2007
Estimating the resident population size of Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus in Peninsular Malaysia (L.
Molard et al.), 87–91.
Migration strategies of Oriental Honey-buzzards Pernis ptilorhyncus breeding in Japan (N. Agostini & U.
Mellone), 182–183.
Observations of Flores Scops Owl Otus alfredi on Flores, Indonesia, with a first description of its
vocalizations (R. Hutchinson et al.), 184–187.
Functional Ecology 21 2007
Melanin pigmentation negatively correlates with plumage preening effort in Barn Owls (A. Roulin), 264–
271.
GABAR 18(2) 2007
Rangle in large falcons (S. Thomsett), 21–25.
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
Boobook 26(1) August 2006
15
Ibis 149 2007
Complex effects of habitat loss on Golden Eagles Aquila chrysaetos (D. Whitfield et al.), 26–36.
Tawny Owls Strix aluco with reliable food supply produce male-biased broods (K. Desfor et al.), 98–105.
Ecological factors influencing disease risk in Eagle Owls Bubo bubo (J. Ortega & F. Espada), 386–395.
Nesting failure in Finnish Goshawks Accipiter gentilis: incidence and cause (P. Byholm & A. Nikula), 597–
604.
Ibis 150 2008
Breeding performance, age effects and territory occupancy in a Bonelli’s Eagle Hieraaetus fasciatus
population (J. Martínez et al.), 223–233.
Individual acoustic monitoring of the European Eagle Owl Bubo bubo (T. Grava et al.), 279–287.
Two aberrant serpent-eagles may be visual mimics of bird-eating raptors (J. Negro), 307–314.
Estimating the onset of dispersal in endangered Bonelli’s Eagles Hieraeetus fasciatus tracked by satellite
telemetry: a comparison between methods (L. Cadahia et al.), 416–420.
J. Animal Ecology 74 2005
Age at first breeding and fitness in Goshawk Accipiter gentilis (O. Krüger), 266–273.
J. Avian Biology 39 2008
Owls and rabbits: predation against substandard individuals of an easy prey (V. Penteriani et al.), 215–221.
Daring, risk assessment and body condition interactions in Steppe Buzzards Buteo buteo vulpinus (Y.
Perlman & I. Tsurim), 226–228.
J. Ornithology 147 2006
Factors affecting breeding habitat selection in a cliff-nesting population of Peregrine Falco peregrinus (M.
Bambilla et al.), 428–435.
J. Ornithology 148 2007
A long-term, large-scale study of the breeding biology of the Spanish Imperial Eagle (Aquila adelberti) (A.
Margalida et al.), 309–322.
J. Wildlife Management 71 2007
Nesting biology of urban Cooper’s Hawks in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (W. Stout et al.), 366–375.
A population estimate for Golden Eagles in the western United States (R. Good et al.), 395–402.
Modeling foraging habitat of California Spotted Owls (L. Irwin et al.), 1183–1191.
Burrowing Owl mortality in the Altamont pass wind resource area (K. Smallwood et al.), 1513–1524.
Assessing impacts of wind-energy developments on nocturnally active birds and bats: a guidance document
(T. Kunz et al.), 2449–2486.
Wind energy development and wildlife conservation; challenges and opportunities (W. Kuvlevsky et al.),
2487–2498.
Estimating wind turbine-caused bird mortality (K. Smallwood), 2781–2791.
J. Zoological, Systematic and Evolutionary Research 45 2007
Convergent evolution and paraphyly of the hawk-eagles of the genus Spizaetus (Aves, Accipitridae) –
phylogenetic analyses based on mitochondrial markers (E. Haring et al.), 353–365.
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
16
Boobook 26(1) August 2008
J. Zoology (London) 274 2008
Philopatry and natal dispersal in a sedentary population of Western Marsh Harrier (A. Sternaski et al.), 188–
197.
Muruk 8(3) 2007
Notes on the New Ireland Boobook (Ninox variegata) (P. Gregory), 143.
Notes on the Papuan Hawk-Owl (Uroglaux dimorpha) (P. Gregory), 144–145.
Oecologia 149 2006
Demographic effects of extreme winter weather in the Barn Owl (R. Altwegg et al.), 44–51.
Effects of food abundance, density and climate on reproduction in the Sparrowhawk Accipiter nisus (J.
Nielsen & A. Møller), 505–518.
Oecologia 152 2007
Sources of variability in Spotted Owl population growth rate: testing predictions using long-term markrecapture data (M. Seamans & R. Gutiérrez), 57–70.
The predatory behavior of wintering Accipiter hawks: temporal patterns in activity of predators and prey (T.
Roth & S. Lima), 169–178.
Long-term demographic analysis in Goshawk Accipiter gentilis: the role of density dependence and
stochasticity (O. Krüger), 459–471.
Oikos 112 2006
Components of breeding performance in two competing species: habitat heterogeneity, individual quality and
density-dependence (M. Carrete et al.), 680–690 [Golden and Bonelli’s Eagles].
Ostrich 78 2007
Nesting biology and food habits of the Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus radama in the south-west and
central plateau of Madagascar (G. Rasafimanjato et al.), 7–12.
Sabah Parks Nature Journal 7 2006
The spread of Tyto capensis (Smith) 1834 to Borneo (A. Biun et al.), 45–48.
Wilson J. Ornithology 119 2007
Frequency of injuries in three raptor species wintering in northeastern Arkansas (B. Bedrosian & A. St.
Pierre), 296–298.
Wingspan 17(4) 2007
Barbs and birds (C. Booth), 12–15 [impact of barbed-wire fences on birds].
Wingspan 18(1) 2007
Helping Powerful Owls (E. McNabb), 30–33 [owlet fledged from nest box in suburbia].
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
Boobook 26(1) August 2006
17
Books
Bird, D.M. & Bildstein, K.L. (Eds) (2007). Raptor Research and Management Techniques. Hancock
House, Blaine (USA).
de Lucas, M. et al. (Eds) (2007). Birds and Windfarms: Risk Assessment and Mitigation. Quercus, Madrid.
Theses
Cherriman, S. (2007). Territory size and diet throughout the year of the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax in
the Perth region, Western Australia. BSc Hons thesis, Curtin University, Perth.
Young, D.A. (2006). Home range, habitat use and diet of two female Tasmanian Masked Owls. BSc Hons
thesis, University if Tasmania, Hobart.
Selected bibliography: Australian diurnal raptors
The following bibliography is presented as an indicator of the state of current research on Australian diurnal
raptors (see Boobook 25: 6–8). It lists only those titles published since the last such bibliographies, in Debus
(2001), The Birds of Prey of Australia (3rd printing), JB Books, Adelaide, and Olsen (2005), Wedge-tailed
Eagle, CSIRO, Melbourne. In other words, the gaps in research attention should be obvious, especially since
the most-researched species in the following list were also largely the most researched in earlier years too. A
few papers in press or submitted are included. Hopefully, this list will inspire people to watch, and initiate
projects on, the under-studied species.
Osprey
Bischoff, T. 2001. Aspects of breeding of the Osprey Pandion haliaetus on the mid-north coast of New South Wales.
Australian Bird Watcher 19: 88–93.
Clancy, G.P. 2005a. The diet of the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) on the north coast of New South Wales. Emu 105:
87–91.
Clancy, G.P. 2005b. Feeding behaviour of the Osprey Pandion haliaetus on the north coast of New South Wales.
Corella 29: 91–96.
Clancy, G.P. 2006. The breeding biology of the Osprey Pandion haliaetus on the north coast of New South Wales.
Corella 30: 1–8.
Dennis, T. 2004. Conservation status of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Osprey and Peregrine Falcon on western Eyre
Peninsula and adjacent offshore islands in South Australia. South Australian Ornithologist 34: 222–228.
Dennis, T. 2007a. Distribution and status of the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) in South Australia. Emu 107: 294–299.
Dennis, T. 2007b. Reproductive activity in the Osprey (Pandion haliaetus) on Kangaroo Island, South Australia. Emu
107: 300–307.
Dennis, T.E. & Baxter, C.I. 2006. The status of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle and Osprey on Kangaroo Island in 2005.
South Australian Ornithologist 35: 47–51.
Kennard, S. & Kennard, D. 2006. The breeding cycle of a pair of Ospreys Pandion haliaetus in northern coastal New
South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 23: 165–176.
Rose, A.B. 2000. Observations on Ospreys Pandion haliaetus breeding on the lower north coast of New South Wales.
Australian Bird Watcher 18: 274–279.
Black-shouldered Kite
Barnes, T. 2005. Foraging, habitat use and nesting of the Black-shouldered Kite Elanus axillaris in the Australian
Capital Territory. Australian Field Ornithology 22: 58–66.
Debus, S.J.S., Olde, G.S., Marshall, N., Meyer, J. & Rose, A.B. 2006. Foraging, breeding behaviour and diet of a
family of Black-shouldered Kites Elanus axillaris near Tamworth, New South Wales. Australian Field
Ornithology 23: 130–143.
Read, D.G. 2005. Observations on parent/young behaviour in a pair of Black-shouldered Kites Elanus axillaris.
Australian Field Ornithology 22: 109–121.
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
18
Boobook 26(1) August 2008
Letter-winged Kite
Aumann, T. & Bellchambers, K. 1999. Letter-winged Kites Elanus scriptus in the south-west of the Northern
Territory. Australian Bird Watcher 18: 68–74.
Pacific Baza
James, P. 2004. The breeding cycle of a pair of Pacific Bazas Aviceda subcristata in south-eastern Queensland.
Australian Field Ornithology 21: 133–140.
Oriental Honey-buzzard
Agostini, N & Mellone, U. 2007. Migration strategies of Oriental Honey-buzzards Pernis ptilorhyncus breeding in
Japan. Forktail 23: 182–183.
Clarke, R.H. 2003. Oriental Honey Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus on Christmas Island, Indian Ocean, Australia.
Australian Field Ornithology 20: 33–37.
Germi, F. & Waluyo, D. 2006. Additional information on the autumn migration of raptors in east Bali, Indonesia.
Forktail 22: 71–76.
Gregory, P. 2007. Second mainland Australian record of the Oriental Honey-Buzzard Pernis ptilorhyncus. Australian
Field Ornithology 24: 90–91.
Square-tailed Kite
Barnes, C.P., Zillmann, E.E. & Rose, A.B. 1999. Breeding behaviour and diet of the Square-tailed Kite Lophoictinia
isura in south-eastern Queensland. Australian Bird Watcher 18: 133–152.
Barnes, C.P., Zillmann, E.E., Rose, A.B. & Debus, S.J.S. 2001. Diet and biology of Square-tailed Kites Lophoictinia
isura breeding in south-eastern Queensland: nest-building to post-fledging. Australian Bird Watcher 19: 28–43.
Bischoff, T., Lutter, H. & Debus, S. 2000. Square-tailed Kites breeding on the mid-north coast of New South Wales.
Australian Bird Watcher 18: 233–240.
Brown, B., Brown, F. & Debus, S.J.S. 2000. Further observations on a pair of Square-tailed Kites nesting near
Grafton, New South Wales. Australian Bird Watcher 18: 270–273.
Cook, B. & Lamb, R. 2000. Square-tailed Kite eating snake on roadside. Australian Bird Watcher 18: 249–251.
Griffiths, H., Lutter, H., Rose, A.B. & Debus, S.J.S. 2002. Breeding and diet of a pair of Square-tailed Kites
Lophoictinia isura on the mid-north coast of New South Wales. Australian Bird Watcher 19: 184–193.
Hobson, P. 2006. Square-tailed Kite taking paper-wasp nest: Australia’s honey-buzzard? Australian Field
Ornithology 23: 184–185.
Lutter, H., Dinnie, R. & Debus, S.J.S. 2003. Square-tailed Kites breeding in northern coastal New South Wales: postfledging diet and behaviour. Australian Field Ornithology 20: 94–104.
Lutter, H., Lutter, M., Rose, A.B. & Debus, S.J.S. 2004. Breeding biology and diet of the Square-tailed Kite on the
mid-north coast of New South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 21: 141–157.
Black-breasted Buzzard
Aumann, T. 2001a. The structure of raptor assemblages in riparian environments in the south-west of the Northern
Territory, Australia. Emu 101: 293–304.
Aumann, T. 2001b. Breeding biology of raptors in riparian environments in the south-west of the Northern Territory,
Australia. Emu 101: 305–315.
Aumann, T. 2001c. Habitat use, temporal activity patterns and foraging behaviour of raptors in the south-west of the
Northern Territory, Australia. Wildlife Research 28: 365–378.
Aumann, T. 2001d. An intraspecific and interspecific comparison of raptor diets in the south-west of the Northern
Territory, Australia. Wildlife Research 28: 379–393.
Falkenberg, I.D., Hurley, V.G. & Stevenson, E. 2000. The impact of Rabbit Calicivirus Disease on raptor reproductive
success in the Strzelecki Desert, South Australia: a preliminary analysis. In Chancellor, R.D. & Meyburg, B.-U.
(Eds), Raptors at Risk, pp 535–542. Hancock House, Surrey, Canada, and World Working Group on Birds of Prey
& Owls, Berlin.
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
Boobook 26(1) August 2006
19
Red Goshawk
Johnstone, R.E. & Storr, G.M. 1998. Handbook of Western Australian Birds, vol. 1. WA Museum, Perth.
Wilkins, P.J. & Donato, D.B. 1998. Observations of Red Goshawk Erythrotriorchis radiatus taking prey and being
robbed. Australian Bird Watcher 17: 263–264.
Black Kite
Falkenberg et al. 2000: see Black-breasted Buzzard
McDonald, P.G. 2003. A successful extralimital breeding of the Black Kite Milvus migrans south-west of Melbourne,
Victoria. Australian Field Ornithology 20: 17–20.
Whistling Kite
Aumann 2001a,b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard
Falkenberg et al. 2000: see Black-breasted Buzzard
Fuentes, E., Olsen, J. & Rose, A.B. 2005. Breeding diet at two Whistling Kite nests near Canberra. Australian Field
Ornithology 22: 122–125.
Brahminy Kite
Lutter, H., McGrath, M.B., McGrath, M.A. & Debus, S.J.S. 2006. Observations on nesting Brahminy Kites Haliastur
indus in northern New South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 23: 177–183.
White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Debus, S.J.S. 2005. White-bellied Sea-Eagles breeding in the Australian Capital Territory? Canberra Bird Notes 30:
146–147.
Debus, S.J.S. 2008. Biology and diet of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster breeding in northern
inland New South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 25(4): in press.
Dennis 2004: see Osprey
Dennis & Baxter 2006: see Osprey
Dennis, T.E. & Brittain, R. 2006. Attempted kleptoparasitism by White-bellied Sea-Eagles on fur-seal. South
Australia Ornithologist 35: 68.
Fitzsimons, J.A. 2002. The taking of a dead Prickly Toadfish Contusus brevicaudas by a White-bellied Sea-eagle
Haliaeetus leucogaster. Australian Bird Watcher 19: 200–201.
Heinsohn, T. 2000. Predation by the White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster on phalangerid possums in New
Ireland, Papua New Guinea. Emu 100: 245–246.
Olsen, J., Fuentes, E. & Rose, A.B. 2006a. Trophic relationships between neighbouring White-bellied Sea-Eagles
(Haliaeetus leucogaster) and Wedge-tailed Eagles (Aquila audax) breeding on rivers and dams near Canberra.
Emu 106: 193–201.
Olsen, J., Fuentes, E., Rose, A.B. & Trost, S. 2006b. Food and hunting of eight breeding raptors near Canberra, 1990–
1994. Australian Field Ornithology 23: 77–95.
Shephard, J.M., Catterall, C.P. & Hughes, J.M. 2004. Discrimination of sex in the White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Haliaeetus
leucogaster, using genetic and morphometric techniques. Emu 104: 83–87.
Shephard, J.M., Catterall, C.P. & Hughes, J.M. 2005. Long-term variation in the distribution of the White-bellied SeaEagle (Haliaeetus leucogaster) across Australia. Austral Ecology 30: 131–145.
Shephard, J.M., Hughes, J.M., Catterall, C.P. & Olsen, P.D. 2005. Conservation status of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Haliaeetus leucogaster in Australia determined using mtDNA control region sequence data. Conservation
Genetics 6: 413–429.
Spencer, J.A. & Lynch, T.P. 2005. Patterns in the distribution of White-bellied Sea-Eagles (Haliaeetus leucogaster) in
Jervis Bay, south-eastern Australia. Emu 105: 211–216.
Thurstans, S.D. In press a. A survey of White-bellied Sea Eagle nests in Tasmania in 2003. Corella.
Thurstans, S.D. In press b. Modelling the nesting habitat of the White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster in
Tasmania. Corella.
Wiersma, J.M. & Richardson, A. In press. Foraging of White-bellied Sea-Eagles Haliaeetus leucogaster in relation to
marine fish farms in Tasmania. Corella.
Wiersma, J.M. & Richardson, A. In press. Morphometrics of White-bellied Sea-Eagles Haliaeetus leucogaster in
relation to fish farms in Tasmania. Corella.
Wiersma, J.M., Nermut, W. & Shephard, J.M. 2001. A variation on the ‘noosed fish’ method and its suitability for
trapping the White-bellied Sea-Eagle Haliaeetus leucogaster. Corella 25: 97–99.
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
20
Boobook 26(1) August 2008
Spotted Harrier
Aumann 2001b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard
Christie, M. 2004. Spotted Harrier taking Southern Boobook. South Australian Ornithologist 34: 176–177.
Swamp Harrier
Hawke, D.J., Clark, J.M. & Challies, C.N. 2005. Verification of seabird contributions to Australasian Harrier diet at
Motunau Island, North Canterbury, using stable isotope analysis. Notornis 52: 158–162.
Powlesland, R.G., Luke, I.J. & Jansen, P. 2002. Predation by Australasian Harrier (Circus approximans) of Little Shag
(Phalacrocorax melanoleucos) clutches. Notornis 49: 266–268.
Brown Goshawk
Aumann 2001a,b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard
Burton, A.M. & Olsen, P. 2000. Niche partitioning by two sympatric goshawks in the Australian Wet Tropics: ranging
behaviour. Emu 100: 216–226.
Minton, C. 2004. Brown Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus attacking a Striated Heron Butorides striatus over the sea.
Australian Field Ornithology 21: 45–46.
Olsen et al. 2006b: see under White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Ward, M.J. & Smith, J.G. 2003. Brown Goshawk Accipiter fasciatus attacking a Green Pygmy-goose Nettapus
pulchellus over and in water. Australian Field Ornithology 20: 105–106.
Grey Goshawk
Burton & Olsen 2000: see Brown Goshawk
Green, R. 2001. First confirmed breeding record of Grey Goshawk in South Australia. South Australian Ornithologist
33: 135–136.
Collared Sparrowhawk
Aumann 2001a,b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard
Wedge-tailed Eagle
Allott, M., Allott, M. & Hatchett, N. 2006. The breeding cycle of a pair of Wedge-tailed Eagles Aquila audax in southeast Queensland. Sunbird 36: 37–41.
Cherriman, S. In press. Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax predation in south-western Australia: implications of
predation on mammal reintroduction programs. Journal of the Royal Society of Western Australia.
Collins, L. & Croft, D.B. 2007. Factors influencing chick survival in the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax. Corella
31: 32–40.
Debus, S.J.S., Hatfield, T.S., Ley, A.J. & Rose, A.B. 2007. Breeding biology and diet of the Wedge-tailed Eagle
Aquila audax in the New England region of New South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 24: 93–120.
Dennis, T.E. 2006. Status and distribution of the Wedge-tailed Eagle on the Fleurieu Peninsula, South Australia, in
2005. South Australian Ornithologist 35: 38–46.
Foster, A. & Wallis, R. In press a. Nest-site characteristics of the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax in southern
Victoria. Corella.
Foster, A. & Wallis, R. In press b. Breeding diet of the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax in southern Victoria.
Corella.
Fuentes, E., Olsen, J. & Rose, A.B. 2007. Diet, occupancy and breeding success of Wedge-tailed Eagles Aquila audax
near Canberra, Australia, 2002–2003: four decades after Leopold and Wolfe. Corella 31: 65–73.
Olsen et al. 2006a,b: see White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Parker, B.D., Hume, I.D. & Boles, W.E. 2007. Diet of breeding Wedge-tailed Eagles Aquila audax in south-central
Queensland. Corella 31: 50–62.
Silva, L.M. & Croft, D.B. 2007. Nest-site selection, diet and parental care of the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax in
western New South Wales. Corella 31: 23–31.
Winkel, P. 2007. Feeding ecology of the Wedge-tailed Eagle Aquila audax in north-west Queensland: interactions
with lambs. Corella 31: 41–49.
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
Boobook 26(1) August 2006
21
Gurney’s Eagle
Røv, N. & Gjershaug, J.O. 2000. Population density, territory size and habitat use of Gurney’s Eagle Aquila gurneyi in
the North Moluccas, Indonesia. In Chancellor, R.D. & Meyburg, B.-U. (Eds), Raptors at Risk, pp 677–683.
Hancock House, Surrey, Canada, and World Working Group on Birds of Prey & Owls, Berlin.
Little Eagle
Aumann 2001a,b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard
Debus, S.J.S., Hatfield, T.S., Ley, A.J. & Rose, A.B. 2007. Breeding biology and diet of the Little Eagle Hieraaetus
morphnoides in the New England region of New South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 24: 137–157.
Falkenberg et al. 2000: see Black-breasted Buzzard
Lenz, M. 2004. Advertising of territory by Little Eagles very late into the day. Canberra Bird Notes 29: 89–90.
Olsen, J. & Fuentes, E. 2005. Collapse in numbers of breeding Little Eagles in the Australian Capital Territory.
Canberra Bird Notes 30: 141–145.
Olsen, J. & Osgood, M. 2006. Numbers of breeding Little Eagles in the Australian Capital Territory in 2006.
Canberra Bird Notes 31: 178–182.
Olsen et al. 2006b: see White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Olsen, J., Osgood, M., Maconachie, M. & Dabb, G. 2008. Numbers of breeding Little Eagles Hieraaetus morphnoides
in the Australian Capital Territory in 207. Canberra Bird Notes 32: in press.
Nankeen Kestrel
Aumann 2001a,b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard
Baker, G.B., Olsen, P., McCulloch, R. & Dettman, E.B. 1997. Preliminary results of a long-term study of the Nankeen
Kestrel: population density and turnover. In Czechura, G. & Debus, S. (Eds), Australian Raptor Studies II, pp.
108–113. Birds Australia Monograph 3, Birds Australia, Melbourne.
Debus, S.J.S., Ley, A.J & Rose, A.B. 2007. Winter diet of a Barn Owl and a Nankeen Kestrel in Diamantina National
Park, western Queensland. Sunbird 37: 1–8.
Oliver, D.L. 2004. Nankeen Kestrel Falco cenchroides takes Crested Pigeon Ocyphaps lophotes Australian Field
Ornithology 21: 47–48.
Olsen, P.D. & Baker, G.B. 2001. Daytime incubation temperatures in nests of the Nankeen Kestrel Falco cenchroides.
Emu 101: 255–258.
Starr, M.J., Starr, M. & Wilson, S.C. 2004. Hunting rates and prey of a pair of breeding Nankeen Kestrels Falco
cenchroides near Sydney, New South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 21: 71–75.
Weston, M.A. 1998. Nankeen Kestrel takes Hooded Plover chick. Australian Bird Watcher 17: 266–267.
Brown Falcon
Aumann 2001a,b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard
Eckert, J. 2003. Brown Falcon subdued by prey. South Australian Ornithologist 34: 85–86.
Falkenberg et al. 2000: see Black-breasted Buzzard
McDonald, P.G. 2003a. Variable plumage and bare part colouration in the Brown Falcon, Falco berigora: the
influence of age and sex. Emu 103: 21–28.
McDonald, P.G. 2003b. Nestling growth and development in the Brown Falcon, Falco berigora: an improved ageing
formula and field-based method of sex determination. Wildlife Research 30: 411–418.
McDonald, P.G. 2004. The breeding ecology of the Brown Falcon (Falco berigora). Emu 104: 1–6.
McDonald, P.G. & Baker-Gabb, D.J. 2006. The breeding diet of different Brown Falcon (Falco berigora) pairs
occupying the same territory over twenty years apart. Journal of Raptor Research 40: 228–231.
McDonald, P.G., Olsen, P.D. & Baker-Gabb, D.J. 2003. Territory fidelity, reproductive success and prey choice in the
Brown Falcon, Falco berigora: a flexible bet-hedger? Australian Journal of Zoology 51: 399–414.
McDonald, P.G., Olsen, P.D. & Cockburn, A. 2004. Weather dictates reproductive success and survival in the
Australian Brown Falcon Falco berigora. Journal of Animal Ecology 73: 683–692.
McDonald, P.G., Olsen, P.D. & Cockburn, A. 2005a. Selection for body size in a raptor with pronounced reversed
sexual size dimorphism: are big females better? Behavioral Ecology 16: 48–56.
McDonald, P.G., Olsen, P.D. & Cockburn, A. 2005b. Sex allocation and nestling survival in a dimorphic raptor: does
size matter? Behavioral Ecology 16: 922–930.
McDonald, P. & Williams, N. 2004. Brown Falcon Falco berigora pair successfully raises Australian Hobby Falco
longipennis nestlings. Australian Field Ornithology 21: 40–44
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
22
Boobook 26(1) August 2008
Australian Hobby
Aumann 2001a,b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard
Bishop, K.D. & Hill, N.P. 2007. Australian Hobby Falcon longipennis on Lord Howe Island. Australian Field
Ornithology 24: 78–79.
Ludwigs, M. 1999. Hunting association between Australian Hobby and Pied Butcherbirds. South Australian
Ornithologist 33: 62.
McDonald & Williams 2004: see Brown Falcon
Olsen, J., Fuentes, E., Bird, D.M., Rose, A.B. & Judge, D. 2008. Dietary shifts based upon prey availability in
Peregrine Falcons and Australian Hobbies breeding near Canberra, Australia. Journal of Raptor Research 42: 125–
137.
Olsen et al. 2006b: see White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Grey Falcon
Aumann 2001b,c,d: see Black-breasted Buzzard
Debus, S.J.S. & Rose, A.B. 2000. Diet of Grey Falcons Falco hypoleucos breeding extralimitally in New South Wales.
Australian Bird Watcher 18: 280–281.
Harrison, R. 2000. Observations on the Grey Falcon Falco hypoleucos. Australian Bird Watcher 18: 267–269.
Johnstone & Storr 1998: see Red Goshawk
Martin, W.K. & Royal, M.J. 2000. Easterly records of the Grey Falcon in New South Wales. Australian Bird Watcher
18: 132–134.
Black Falcon
Antos, M. 2003. Dietary items of the Black Falcon Falco subniger and Zebra Finch Taeniopygia guttata in northern
Victoria. Australian Field Ornithology 20: 21–23.
Debus, S.J.S., Hatfield, T.S., Olde, G.S. & Rose, A.B. 2005. Breeding behaviour and diet of a pair of Black Falcons
Falco subniger in northern New South Wales. Australian Field Ornithology 22: 165–181.
Falkenberg et al. 2000: see Black-breasted Buzzard
Peregrine Falcon
Boulet, M., Olsen, P.D., Cockburn, A. & Newgrain, K. 2001. Parental investment in male and female offspring by the
Peregrine Falcon, Falco peregrinus. Emu 101: 95–103.
Dennis 2004: see Osprey
Emison, W.B., Hurley, V.G., White, C.M. & Brimm, D.J. 1998. Results from a banding study of Peregrine Falcon
chicks in Victoria, 1972–1997. Corella 22: 87–91.
Emison, W.B., White, C.M., Hurley, V.G. & Brimm, D.J. 1997. Factors influencing the breeding distribution of the
Peregrine Falcon in Victoria, Australia. Wildlife Research 24: 433–444.
Germi & Waluyo 2006: see Oriental Honey-Buzzard
Hurley, V.G., Hogan, F., White, J.G. & Cooke, R. 2007. A morphological model for sexing nestling Peregrine Falcons
(Falco peregrinus macropus) verified through genetic analysis. Wildlife Research 34: 54–58.
Olsen, J., Debus, S.J.S., Rose, A.B. & Hayes, G. 2004. Breeding success, cliff characteristics and diet of Peregrine
Falcons at high altitude in the Australian Capital Territory. Corella 28: 33–37.
Olsen, J., Fuentes, E., Dykstra, R. & Rose, A.B. 2006. Male Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus fledged from a cliffnest found breeding in a stick-nest. Australian Field Ornithology 23: 8–14.
Olsen et al. 2006b: see White-bellied Sea-Eagle
Olsen et al. 2008: see Australian Hobby
Olsen, J. & Tucker, A.D. 2003. A brood-size manipulation experiment with Peregrine Falcons, Falco peregrinus, near
Canberra. Emu 103: 127–132.
Olsen, P., Doyle, V. & Boulet, M. 1998. Variation in male provisioning in relation to brood size of Peregrine Falcons
Falco peregrinus. Emu 98: 297–304.
Potts, R.T. & Donato, D.B. 2000. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus taking Australian Bustard Ardeotis australis.
Australian Bird Watcher 18: 282–284.
Potts, R.T. & Donato, D.B. 2008. Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus breeding success in a disused mining pit while
taking prey from cyanide-bearing tailings dams. Australian Field Ornithology 25(3): in press.
White, C.M., Brimm, D.J. & Wetton, J.H. 2000. The Peregrine Falcon Falco peregrinus in Fiji and Vanuatu. In
Chancellor, R.D. & Meyburg, B.-U. (Eds), Raptors at Risk, pp 707–720. Hancock House, Surrey, Canada, and
World Working Group on Birds of Prey & Owls, Berlin.
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
Boobook 26(1) August 2006
23
INTERNATIONAL NEWS
Raptors drowning in stock tanks
During the past few years I have collated all the raptor drowning records in southern Africa (see Anderson et
al. 1999, Ostrich 70: 139–144). Each year raptors drown in farmers’ small, circular farm reservoirs,
particularly in the drier parts of the region, and usually in reservoirs that are not full. They are probably not
able to determine the depth of the water, and then plunge into the water thinking that they can stand and
drink and bathe. Their feathers then become waterlogged and they are not able to clamber up the reservoir’s
steep sides. We recommend to farmers that a log, branch, pole or ladder is attached to the side of reservoirs
to enable a raptor to extricate itself. We have advocated these mitigation methods in a pamphlet, articles in
farmers’ magazines and on radio and television programs. The number of drownings seems to have
decreased, and there has not been a single drowning in one of the many hundred reservoirs fitted with one of
the mitigation devices.
Mark D. Anderson, [email protected] 09/04/2008
…A problem in Australia too; see Debus et al. (2006), S. Aust. Ornithologist 35: 27–37.
*************
FORTHCOMING EVENT
Don’t forget the ARA conference at Coffs Harbour, NSW, 30–31 August 2008, with a field day on 1
September.
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
24
Boobook 26(1) August 2008
Index to Vol. 25
Subjects:
Eagle issues
Rehab
Research needs
Taxonomy
Windfarms
3–5
10–12
6–8
9
5
Species:
ACCIPITER
cirrocephalus
AQUILA
audax
7
3–5, 7, 9, 13, 15,
19
AVICEDA
subcristata
6, 9
CIRCUS
assimilis
7
ELANUS
axillaris
scriptus
6, 10–11, 18
6
ERYTHROTRIORCHIS
radiatus
7–8, 17
HAMIROSTRA
melanosternon
6, 9, 18
HENICOPERNIS
9
HIERAAETUS
kienerii
9
morphnoides
7, 9, 14
[morphnoides] weiskei 9
ICTINAETUS
malayensis
9
LOPHOICTINIA
isura
6, 9, 12, 15
NINOX
novaeseelandiae
strenua
14, 18
5
FALCO
berigora
cenchroides
hypoleucos
longipennis
peregrinus
subniger
HALIAEETUS
leucogaster
HALIASTUR
indus
10
18–19
8, 17
8
11–12, 14, 16–17
8, 11
PANDION
haliaetus
5–6, 14–16
SPIZAETUS
cirrhatus
floris
lanceolatus
9
9
9
3, 7, 18
TYTO
alba
novaehollandiae
7
Journal of the Australasian Raptor Association
27–28
16