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Project Noah Nature School
Menura novaehollandiae
Pheasant-sized bird with grey head and body. Rusty brown throat, sides and tail base. Plumage sometimes reflects a beautiful soft olive green. Long tail.
Damp tall eucalyptus forest Endemic to Australia, fossils of these birds date back to about 15 million years.
This female was spotted with her baby in the bush. They were together for quite a while before the adult ventured on to the track, unexpectedly right in front of me. She did not seem perturbed and kept scratching the ground, lifting branches away to look for insects under them. I videoed her and will upload when I can work out how to get it to play without stalling ! The female always looks a bit "harassed" to me. the tail feathers are not as gorgeous as the male's http://www.projectnoah.org/spottings/987... These birds are very well camouflaged. You know of their presence by the loud scratching and can locate them by their song. They are excellent mimics of every bird and any other sound they hear. They belong to the Family Menuridae
Spotted on Feb 22, 2013
Submitted on Feb 25, 2013
1 Comment
Great spot Leuba, they are usually so shy!