Brown Quail at Cassilis Cemetery

A pair of Brown Quail were found at the cemetery in the Cassilis Historic Area near Swifts Creek. The Cemetery and adjoining reserve are located in a beautiful valley and support a surprisingly rich number of bird species.

The Quail were found in a patch of blue periwinkle (Vinca major – see end note below), an introduced invasive weed. While this weed is contained in this location by the surrounding mowed grass and grazed farmland, it is out of control, as is blackberry, along the Tambo River beside the Great Alpine Road between Bruthen and Swifts Creek.

The Brown Quail pair were no doubt only temporary residents at the cemetery and while they were there, the periwinkle provided ideal cover and protection for them.

One bird was particularly shy, while the other, possibly the female, offered some rare close up photo opportunities. 

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While the bird stood out against the dark green periwinkle, its beautifully patterned plumage provides effective camouflage in most habitats this species lives in.

NOTE: Periwinkle is an invasive weed, particularly species like blue periwinkle (Vinca major), that spreads from gardens to natural areas, forming dense, smothering mats. It outcompetes native plants for light, water, and nutrients by suppressing other vegetation and hindering the growth of young trees. It spreads via runners and fragments carried by water or dumped garden waste, and it can be toxic to humans and animals. 

Pale-headed Rosella at Yanda Campground

In August 2024 we camped for a few days at Yanda Campground below Bourke on the Darling River in the Gundabooka National Park. At the time there had been good local rains and the campground and surrounding area was clothed in lush verdant green annual forbs and gasses. In this arid region conditions like this are the exception with dry bare ground more normal as shown in the following screen shot satellite image of the area from Google Maps. 

Floods in the Darling River will also bring a flush of green but only to the area of inundation which does not include the higher areas where the campground is located. This was the case when we were there again in July 2025. A recent flood down the Darling had triggered a flush of green growth up to the flood line but above there it was dry and barren bare earth, the verdant green of August the previous year long gone. The flood had triggered a massive outbreak of lerp on the fresh new leaves of the River Redgums where honeyeaters, Spiny-cheeked, White-plumed, White-fronted and Singing, were hyperactive, gleaning sugar which was almost dripping from the leaves.

In August 2024 we found a pair of Pale-headed Rosellas at the campground which were attracted beyond the normal limit of their south westerly range by the rare bounty of short lived seeds.

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At times the bird was hidden from my sight and from the camera, by the lush vegetation in which it was feeding.

All of the rosella (Platycercus) genus are spectacularly beautiful including the Pale-headed Rosella. The following shots of the feeding bird at Yanda show just how brilliant their feather colours are.

The bird looked to be feeding exclusively on a very prickly looking green seed from (I think), Medicago polymorpha. Common names include Trefoil, Toothed Medic, Burr Clover etc. While green, the seed spines are soft, however when they dry out and stiffen they can make camping and walking around in bare feet a painful experience.

Our experience at Yanda shows just how variable conditions are in outback arid Australia and how many bird species move in response to the boom and bust extremes of food supplies. 

Noisy Friarbird

Friarbirds are a distinctive group of large honeyeaters with varying amounts of bare facial and/or head skin. The Noisy Friarbird has the most bare skin of the four Friarbird species found in Australia.

The Australian Bird Guide describes the Noisy Friarbird as bold, belligerent and gregarious - they can be found in small groups to large flocks. I agree with the ABG assessment, however from my experience single birds are also common. 

Single birds can be rather elusive and hard to approach but I recently encountered a single bird at close range and before the bird recovered from my surprise appearance and took off, I managed two photos which, when cropped, show the bird’s bare head and facial skin fairly well.

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Without feathers (ear-coverts), the ear hole, which all birds have and we rarely see, is obvious in the photos. 

The casque, the protrusion at the base of the upper mandible, also stands out and I wonder what purpose, if any, this provides? A quick search suggests the purpose of casques on birds is unknown though there are a number of possible explanations.

The evolution of bare skin in birds has been driven by thermoregulation and/or feeding hygiene and not sexual selection. The Noisy Friarbird’s bare skin may be a survival advantage but to my eye and aesthetic bias, it is not pretty. 

Rose Robin

The Rose Robin (Petroica rosea) is the most commonly recorded Petroica robin (1) found in the BirdLife East Gippsland Region. It is the most arboreal of the genus and is more flycatcher like in its hunting – less of a “perch and pounce” onto ground-based prey approach.

At Walhalla recently a male Rose Robin was observed in the tangled branches of an introduced deciduous tree where it was seen to hold out and flutter its wings which were held in a downward position – see the first photo below. It was not a hot day and there did not appear to be another Rose Robin present – male or female. A little research suggests this behaviour in males is a territorial display which is consistent with spring breeding when birds are establishing and holding breeding territory and looking to attract a mate. 

The following photos are of the subject male. 

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Finding any of the red (Petroica) robins in the field is always a cause for some excitement. 

(1) The Petroica genus in Australia comprises the following five robin species: Scarlet, Flame, Red-capped, Pink and Rose.

Brown Thornbill

Six species of Thornbills are found in the BirdLife East Gippsland Region; Brown, Striated, Yellow-rumped, Yellow, Buff-rumped and Weebill. Browns are by far the most often encountered and recorded. Of the 4,480 surveys (at 5/12/2025) recorded by BirdLife East Gippsland in its region, Brown Thornbills were recorded in 1,733 of the surveys. Only Superb Fairywrens, Grey Fantails and Australian Magpies were recorded more often. The frequency of recording for the other five Thornbill species found in the East Gippsland Region fall way behind the 1,733 records for Brown. Other records are, Striated 701, Yellow-rumped 458, Yellow 430, Buff-rumped 96 and Weebill 56.

Browns are sedentary and occupy a wide range of habitats with dense vegetation across most of East Gippsland, which may explain their greater abundance compared with the other thornbill species which have narrower habitat preferences in East Gippsland. 

Of all the Thornbills, I think Browns have the greatest repertoire of calls which can include mimicry of other species and they also have harsh churring scolding alarm calls. Their main calls are fairly easily recognised which helps identify these small brown birds in dense vegetation which therefore results in a higher reporting rate.

Found most often singly or in pairs they can sometimes be found in family parties. Recently, while birding alone, I encountered such a party comprising five birds which I first noticed by their scolding alarm calls. At first I looked for the cause of their agitation which most often will be due to the presence of a predator. However it soon became apparent that I was the source of their agitation as they were clearly focused on me as they moved about in a bush close by. I took this rare opportunity to capture some close up photos.

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