The Bush Stone-curlew is a large, slim, nocturnal, ground-dwelling bird, unlike any other bird in Australia. The Bush Stone-curlew was formerly quite common but has declined in numbers through loss of habitat and predation by foxes and feral cats. It can be seen on golf courses and even in cemeteries.
The Bush Stone-curlew, or Bush Thick-knee, is mostly grey-brown above, streaked with black and rufous. It has whitish underparts with clear, vertical black streaks. The bill is small and black, and the eye is large and yellow, with a prominent white eyebrow. Both sexes are similar. Young Bush Stone-curlews are similar in appearance to the adults but are paler, and a little browner in colour. Their average size is 56cm.
If Bush Stone-curlews are nearby you may hear their eerie, high-pitched wailing at night, and occasionally during the day. This ghost-like call is their contact call and may be given by several birds in a chorus. Rendered as weer-lo, it is repeated four or five times, sometimes culminating in a trilled, screeching crescendo. Bird call recorded by: Krzysztof Deoniziak
The range of the Bush Stone-curlew extends throughout mainland Australia.
Habitat: Heathland, Grassland, Woodland, Urban
The Bush Stone-curlew is a ground-dwelling bird found throughout grasslands, heathlands, and the bush and are sometimes found in cemeteries and golf courses.
Bush Stone-curlews are ground-dwelling, nocturnal birds, doing all their feeding and other activities at night. When they are seen during the day, they are usually inactive, standing quietly in the shade with their eyes half-closed, or squatting on the ground where their cryptic plumage makes them difficult to see among the leaf litter.
Bush Stone-curlews have a wide-ranging diet, but prefer to feed on insects, molluscs, small lizards, seeds and occasionally small mammals. During the breeding season, nesting birds will search for food in the vicinity of the nest site, while at other times, birds may travel large distances.
Bush Stone-curlews have a remarkable courtship dance. Individuals stand with their wings outstretched, their tail upright and their neck stretched slightly forward. The birds will stamp their feet up and down, like a soldier marking time. This courtship ritual is repeated for an hour or more at a time and is accompanied by loud and constant calling. Their clutch size is 1 to 3 eggs and are laid in a shallow scrape in the ground with both adults sharing the incubation and care of the young. The nestling period is 50 days and the breeding season is from July to January.
