Oriental Dollarbird

The Oriental Dollarbird (Eurystomus orientalis pacificus) is a summer breeding migrant found in Australia between September and April and spending winter in New Guinea and the eastern islands of Indonesia (where it does not breed). A small number have been regular visitors to our property on the Nicholson River at Sarsfield for as long as I can remember – they are uncommon in East Gippsland. I recall first realising they breed here when I found a juvenile bird barely able to fly on the ground possibly due to misadventure on its first flight from the nest (they nest in tree hollows).

A Dollarbird perched low in our garden in January 2013.

In our location Dollarbirds favour tall trees along the forest edge and the river. They can often be seen perched on a dead limb, high in tall trees from which they sally forth on long wings in aerial pursuit of their insect prey especially in the early morning and evenings. Their presence is often revealed by their distinctive croaky calls. I have found them to be very wary birds and hard to get close to. Given they favour high perches and retreat on approach photo opportunities are few and far between. 

The white panels in the wings visible below and above are actually a light blue colour but can look white both in the field and in photos. These distinctive wing spots, visible when the bird is in flight, are the source of their name as the spots were thought to resemble silver dollars.

The following shots were taken on dusk with a low sun angle and shade from tall Grey Box trees. Several birds were chasing insects in one location between short breaks in tall trees when they no doubt were on the lookout for flying prey. Their aerial pursuits in low light made capturing sharp photos challenging. While the following images are softer than I would like I  thought they were still worth sharing.

NOTE: You can left click on any photo to open a slide show of the photos free of text or a right click enables one photo at a time to be opened in a New Tab where an enlarged version can be viewed.

A Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike got in on the act – a small insect is visible in its bill.