• Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to secondary sidebar
lizard

Moggill Creek

Catchment Group

  • Home
  • About MCCG
    • History Of MCCG
    • Catchment In Context
    • Governance
    • Benefits to our catchment
    • Projects
    • Why Do We Care
    • Volunteering
    • The Cottage
  • Get Involved
  • The Nursery
  • Events & Activities
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Projects
    • Cottage Talks
    • Kids’ Day
    • Working Bees
    • Photography Competition
    • Platypus Survey
    • Creek Health Monitoring
    • Private Land Rehabilitation
  • Catchment Field Guides
    • Birds common in our Catchment
    • Butterflies in our Catchment
    • Declared plants in our Catchment
    • Dragonflies in our Catchment
    • Freshwater fish in our catchment
    • Freshwater turtles in our catchment
    • Frogs in our Catchment
    • Ladybirds in our Catchment
    • Mammals in our Catchment
    • Rare and vagrant birds in our Catchment
  • Plants
  • Wildlife
    • Birds
    • Butterflies
    • Dung Beetles
    • Feral Animals
    • Koalas
    • Native Fish
    • Platypus
  • Landscape
    • The Creeks
    • Soils
    • Vegetation
    • Land Use
    • Geology
    • Land Restoration
  • Media Centre
  • News & Newsletters
    • Latest News
    • News Archive
    • MCCG Newsletters
  • Bush Bites
  • Reference Material
  • Useful Links
  • Membership
  • Contact MCCG

Wildlife Matters

July 31, 2022 by mccgadmin

Pheasant Coucal

We have a pair of Pheasant Coucals living up the hill behind our house. They are not true Pheasants and were previously included in the Cuckoo family. Recent investigations have shown significant differences in their biology, and they don’t lay eggs in other species nests, so their family is now usually split from the Cuckoos.

Coucals are known for their monogamous, stable territorial relationships. I often see them catching large insects and frogs, but they also are known to prey on eggs, chicks, lizards, rats, mice, frogs, and snakes. They are mainly ground predators moving through the long grass either ambushing or using a rather clumsy looking “flush and rush” technique. The male assumes black colouration during breeding. The nest is in long grass usually among lantana scrub. The male “bribes” the female with a food offering during copulation. In the photo he is offering a frog.

Pheasant Coucal Photo: Ed Frazer

The female leaves him to do the incubation of the eggs and most of the feeding of the 3 or 4 chicks. After hatching they are fed in the nest for about 8 days and then they follow the male for 2 months before being driven out of the parents’ territory.

I usually see the two Coucals several metres apart calling to each other during the day. They have a distinctive, booming ‘Ooop Ooop’ call that travels long distances. When they are not hunting, they often sit in trees.  I have seen them sunbathing in trees with both wings and their tail outspread. A very pretty sight. They are aware of my presence if I approach and will fly into a tree.  As I get nearer, they try to hide behind branches of foliage while watching me intently and will fly off about 50 metres to another tree if I get too close.

The Coucal is an interesting bird and is found throughout Brisbane in suitable grassland habitat with a few trees.

Ed Frazer


Published in

Filed Under: News

Primary Sidebar

  • Latest Newsletter
  • Photo Competition
  • Projects
  • Creek Health Monitoring
  • Calendar of Events
  • Working Bee Calendar
  • Catchment Field Guides
Get  Involved!
MCCG on Facebook MCCG on Facebook
MCCG on YouTube MCCG on YouTube
MCCG on Instagram MCCG on Instagram

Secondary Sidebar

  • Home
  • About MCCG
    • History Of MCCG
    • Catchment In Context
    • Governance
    • Benefits to our catchment
    • Projects
      • Old Gold Creek Sawmill Forest Walk
      • Anzac Tree Daisy Project
      • Bird Project
      • Bird Project – Deerhurst Street Park
      • Creek Health Monitoring
      • Pacey Road
      • Rowena Street Park Restoration Project
      • Streamsavers
      • Smith’s Scrub
    • Why Do We Care
    • Volunteering
    • The Cottage
  • Get Involved
  • The Nursery
  • Events & Activities
    • Old Gold Creek Sawmill Forest Walk
    • Calendar Of Events
    • Projects
    • Cottage Talks
    • Kids’ Day
    • Working Bees
    • Photo Competition
    • Platypus Survey
    • Creek Health Monitoring
    • Private Land Rehabilitation
  • Catchment Field Guides
    • Birds common in our Catchment
    • Butterflies in our Catchment
    • Declared plants in our Catchment
    • Dragonflies in our Catchment
    • Freshwater fish in our catchment
    • Freshwater turtles in our catchment
    • Frogs in our Catchment
    • Ladybirds in our Catchment
    • Mammals in our Catchment
    • Rare and vagrant birds in our Catchment
  • Plants
  • Wildlife
    • Birds
    • Butterflies
    • Dung Beetles
    • Feral Animals
    • Koalas
    • Native Fish
    • Platypus
  • Landscape
    • The Creeks
    • Soils
    • Vegetation
    • Land Use
    • Geology
    • Land Restoration
  • Media Centre
  • News & Newsletters
    • Latest News
    • News Archive
    • MCCG Newsletters
  • Bush Bites
  • Reference Material
  • Useful Links
  • Membership
  • Contact MCCG

© MOGGILL CREEK CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT GROUP INC.
ABN 57 981 459 029
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT US

ACNC-Registered-Charity-Logo_RGB

Proudly supported by

aus-gov-logo
BCC-Logo-ILoveBNE

© MOGGILL CREEK CATCHMENT MANAGEMENT GROUP INC.
ABN 57 981 459 029
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED | PRIVACY POLICY | CONTACT US

Proudly supported by

supported-by