Shining-bronze cuckoo eating an egg

[Brent Stephenson]

Hi all,

Also whilst doing bird counts today I looked up to see a shining-bronze cuckoo about 3m away from me. The bird was an adult and it had an egg in its bill! I'm guessing the bird was a female and had just laid its egg in a nest and removed one of the hosts eggs. The bird had clearly cracked one side of the egg with its bill, and was holding it upright, with its beak at a 45 degree angle. It was clearly swallowing the contents of the egg, and once the shell was empty discarded it, then wiped it's bill clean.

From the look of the egg it was definitely not a grey warbler, nor a grey fantail (both these species have eggs with speckles). It wasn't a dunnock either - not blue enough, more greeny. The only species which springs to mind and matches is silvereye...be keen if anyone recognises the species.

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Full details and another photo on my blog.

Cheers,

[Jan]

Looks like Silvereye egg.
Shining cuckoos do parasitise White-eyes in Oz, but are are supposed to prefer
those spp with domed nests.

There are shining cuckoo around our place this year, none last year, but I haven't heard any wabblers about.

[simon.fordham]

Is it possible that it wasn't a nest parasitization ........................ just a nest egg predation?

On the same bird, for the third successive year, we have a pair of warblers feeding a cuckoo in the same kanuka, about 10-20m from our house. However, it is certainly earlier than previous observations, possibly around a month earlier than last year.

According to H&R, eggs are laid from mid October so this about as early as you would expect to see fledged cuckoos (33-34-38 days from hatching). I am not sure when it fledged but had been hearing the repetitive call of the juvenile for at least a week.

Simon

[Jan]

There seem to be more Cuckoos around this year but there seem to be more birds full stop. The very wet winter and spring around Christchurch have meant masses of flowering and fruiting plants about, which must help.

In HANZAB there is no mention of Shining Cuckoos eating eggs apart from the egg they remove when they lay their own.
In fact they seem to be entirely insect-eaters, especially hairy caterpillars like those of the Magpie Moth. The Cuckoo even has a strenthed gizzard-lining to deal with the spines, or something.

Jim Briskie does work on Cuckoos and has students working on them, perhaps someone should see what he thinks?

[Steps]

However, it is certainly earlier than previous observations, possibly around a month earlier than last year.

Our kakariki where sitting in the 3rd week of June on their 1st batch this yr...thats the coldest week of the yr.
Our King was sitting on her 2 batch eggs on guy fawlkes night...usually she is sitting in her 1st batch and about a week from hatching
The fantail white eyes, starlings, thrush and black birds (in the backyard) all had new chicks out of the nest by the 1st week of Nov
They are 2 to 3 weeks earlier than last yr, and last yr about 2 weeks earier than the yr before.
Cabbage tree came out in flower a good 2 weeks early ...
things my grandfather always said meant a long hot summer...If still alive he would be way over 120 now.

[tim]

Rifleman are early this year also, Already nested and feeding young at start of november, last year around mid to late november.
I just noticed cos I have been spending a LOT of time with rifleman this past month.

[simon.fordham]

Nice rifleman photos Tim!

It's easy to see why this is New Zealand's best bird!

Nothing comes close really.

[tim]

Thanks Simon, they are a very great bird and very much in my top list
They are so great to watch when you watch them from just over a meter away.