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'Singing' bellbird

Posted: Sun Dec 02, 2018 10:12 am
by JohnG
Walking past a mature roadside tree in Redcliffs (Christchurch) we heard birdsong which we first thought was blackbird or starling but couldn't actually see the bird. However it was a continuous 'song' with a variety of notes - we listened to it for 3 or 4 minutes. We had a quick errand up the road and when we walked back it was still singing. Unfortunately we weren't able to record it. The bird then flew across the road and landed in a front garden tree, carried on singing and turned out to be a bellbird - not uncommon here. In Sumner just around the corner I hear bellbird most days so am familiar with its calls/song. It definitely didn't have any of the normal 'ringing' notes normally associated with bellbirds in any of its song and so far I've not managed to find any audio online that matches what we heard. Is what we heard unusual?

Re: 'Singing' bellbird

Posted: Mon Dec 03, 2018 7:56 pm
by Joanna10
Perhaps a young bird learning to sing. I remember being puzzled by a call which didnt sound at all like a tui but turned it that was one: an immature bird just learning the ropes.

Re: 'Singing' bellbird

Posted: Tue Dec 04, 2018 3:28 pm
by JohnG
Hi Joanna,
Thanks for this. I think you are right. I've spent a bit more time and found something similar to what we heard on NZbirdsonline - "Solo song, possibly bird of the year...".