Channel-billed Cuckoos and Fig Trees of Manly

A couple of Channel-billed cuckoos ( Scythrops novaehollandiae) are back in town again, seeking to outsource their child-rearing to the local Crows, Pied Currawongs, Butcherbirds and Australian Magpies. The up to 65 cm long bird with a large (horn-like) bill and a red eye can be heard (audio) at different times of the day. Its call is much louder than that of the Common Koel (Eudynamys scolopacea) (audio). They love eating native figs and fruit. Around Feb./March they fly back to a rapidly cleared PNG.

Here too in lawny bland-burbia intolerance to trees fills the air with the sound of daily chainsaws and other petrol powered machines. The Fig trees Manly has to offer the visiting bats and birds, such as in Darley Rd and Wenthworth St have no protective devices (cages) to prevent vehicles constantly crunching into them. They are very scarred, most of the bottom branches had to make way to the 'wheels of industry'.

Many large, old trees/figs are mysteriously dying at the moment, revealing a 'view'.

At the library plaza of Market Place a pet fanatic even brings in an unleashed cat and locals get amused how it chases the local native birds.


Trees and birds are one of the big assets of Manly -let's look after them..
Trees on Council Land, Manly Council
Images: Figs in Darley Rd. Manly, dead old Fig, Marine Pde
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