MEADOWS & MEADOWS: First AUSTRALIAN 286 Record of Long-tailed Cuckoo BIRD WATCHER

First Record of a Long-tailed Cuckoo Eudynamys taitensis on Mainland

On the morning of 11 March 2000 a strange cuckoo was sighted in our garden. Superficially the bird•resembled a female Common Koel Eudynamys scolopacea but lacked the black cap and red eyes. It differed from an immature Koel by having a strongly streaked breast and belly and an exceptionally long, barred tail. The brown back could not be seen clearly but did not appear to be strongly mottled or spotted. The bill was medium brown and was the same size and sturdiness as a Koel's bill. Initially it was perched about 3 m up in a tea-tree in a suburban yard and was approached to within 2 m and watched for 2-3 minutes. During that time it flew up into a nearby palm tree, returned to the tea-tree then flew away over the back fence and out of sight. After it had left, it was readily identified from Pizzey & Knight (1997) as a Long-tailed CuckooE. taitensis. The sighting coincides with the annual migration of cuckoos from their breeding range in New Zealand to Pacific atolls where most Long-tailed Cuckoos over-winter. It also occurred 13 days after Cyclone Steve moved out of the Coral Sea and crossed the coast at . It is assumed that the Cuckoo was swept off its migration path by the cyclone and made landfall in Cairns where it subsequently survived the intervening period. The species occurs irregularly on Norfolk and Lord Howe , but reports from Cato Island, , and the Northern are unconfirmed (Higgins 1999). If accepted, this would be the first confirmed report from mainland Australia.

References Higgins, P.J. (Ed.) (1999), Handbook of Australian, New Zealand and Antarctic Birds, vol. 4, Oxford University Press, . Pizzey, G. & Knight, F. (1997), The Graham Pizzey and Frank Knight Field Guide to the Birds of Australia, HarperCollins, .

By GEOFF MEADOWS and ESTHER MEADOWS, 25 Cheviot Street, Smithfield Heights, Cairns, Queensland 4878 Received 3 April 2000 •