I've always been amazed by the fact that Noisy Miners join in attacking the cuckoo even though their nests aren't targeted. Every time I see a channel billed cuckoo being chased or swooped at there is always a group of miners participating
Such efficient evolution for the cuckoo; flies south, snacks, lays an egg and heads back north to enjoy her free time til next year! Heartbreaking for the currawong. Last year, our local currawong had TWO channel bills to care for, she never got a break! Great video, thanks.
Currawongs have brutally killed off all of Sydney’s small birds such as wrens, finches and whip birds. Channel Bills have helped minimise the numbers of currawongs breeding in sydney, and now we are finally starting to see small birds make a return. Currawongs are meant to be in the Great Dividing Range to breed, not in Sydney. Over the last few decades, they’ve started to stay in sydney year round and kill smaller bird species to use as food for their own brood, or simply as for food for themselves. Natures karma, natures eco system.
Excellent camera work of a sad but wholly natural event. If there is a silver lining at all for the Currawong pair, they at least weren't left a changeling in the nest by the Cuckoo and be trapped into feeding and raising it. They may have time to make a new nest and try again before the season is over.
Thank you for so nicely documenting this all too common event. Many different species of birds do that to each other in Australia.The Channel Billed Cuckoo is [EDIT this is incorrect: “from overseas”] migratory, so they’re local but travel, and are part of the local native ecology. Thankfully this time it didn't lay its own egg! My currawong nest was under threat but somehow they got the Cuckoo really high and were able to fight it off in the sky. It moved onto another nest in the distance. My nest was eventually invaded by Magpies! Then the Currawongs and Magpies had a "2 day war", followed by no Magpies for about 2 months.
@@stevejuneau2395 No, I had been videoing the nest building and had figured out the eggs were about to hatch in a few days, but then went away for 2 days, super bad timing. When I returned there was an ongoing battle between Currawongs and Magpies, and unfortunately the nest was abandoned.
Its also native to Australia. Its a migratory bird. It spends half the year here and half the year overseas. Its not invasive its a natural part of Australian ecology.
As fascinating and unsettling as that was watching a cuckoo eat 3 eggs just swallow them whole, I still wished you would intervene. I know its nature and I know it's a video , but in my heart of hearts I was hoping you would stop the ambush that takes place in nature. Fascinating narration. Great photography
Great currawong built the nest next to humans window hoping human will deter any attack but hooman had other idea. Hooman wanted to create a sensational video
So that’s what all that racket was outside my window a few months back! Saw a currawong attacking a huge grey bird and wondered what it was. Thank you for the explanation, wonderful video!
We have a currawong nest outside the bedroom window too. I was very excited and have been observing the chick grows until one day I found out the baby is cuckoo baby... how sad! Currawong took care and fed cuckoo that may attack their eggs soon.
Just witnessed the same thing here in Sydney. Amazing stuff. What appears chaotic on one level is harmony on another. Just like the human body it’s amazing.
Wow, I had no idea that was a currawong call I hear every morning when I get out of bed in the morning. I've never seen them before. Or perhaps their call is similar a magpie's, which I see in abundance on my street.
A couple months ago I saw a magpie feeding a bird about its own size. I thought the 'baby' could be a cuckoo. Today I saw the younger bird again - definitely a channel-billed cuckoo juvenile. And it still fusses and cries and nags its "mother" for food, although now much bigger than "mum". I've often seen the magpie take food out of our cat's bowl and give it to the cuckoo!
I saw a currawong feeding a channel billed cuckoo just the other day, actually the second time I've seen such a thing in the last year or so. I was honestly surprised just how big the cuckoo was... a currawong is a reasonable sized bird, but the cuckoo dwarfed it.
I saw this happen a couple of years ago to a raven, This year its a black faced cuckoo shrike, Mother nature is a bitch just the way it is beautiful & cruel
I would have helped the currawong get rid of the shitbird cuckoo. Rock, arrow, bullet etc. I dont care what anyone says, I would totally f up the dirty bastard cuckoo bird to save the chicks.
Cuckoo is always the one that lays its egg on others nest . Those cuckoo chiks kill the rest of the chiks who really own that nest!! The adoptive parent birds feed that murder cuckoo even tho it killed their own chicks. Pls watch other videos. U will come to know. It's all survival fight for cuckoo
