An unprecedented irruption and breeding of Flock Bronzewings Phaps histrionica in central South Australia
Reece D. Pedler, Catherine E. Lynch
pp. 1-13
Abstract
The Flock Bronzewing Phaps histrionica has declined significantly and undergone a northward range contraction in inland Australia since European settlement. In the southern parts of its range, including central northern South Australia, it is uncommonly recorded during times of significant ephemeral vegetation response, triggered by sustained above-average rainfall. In late 2013, while core habitats in Queensland were in extended drought and much of arid South Australia received below-average rainfall, an area of ~10 000 km2 between Roxby Downs and Lake Eyre South supported tens of thousands of Flock Bronzewings, with evidence of widespread successful breeding during September and October and contemporary range expansions of 150 km to the south and west. Through a network of local pastoralists, mining workers and biologists we collated ˃80 field observations from >40 observers across this region. Direct evidence of predation by Cats Felis catus was detected at a nest-site and in the stomach of a cat shot in the area. Seeds of annual shrubs Trichodesma and Phyllanthus species dominated the crop contents of two dead fledgling Bronzewings that were collected opportunistically. Although the Flock Bronzewing is well known for its irruptive nature, the magnitude and southerly extent of this sustained irruption are unprecedented in the literature and in the living memory of local observers. This event exemplifies the remarkable ability of arid-adapted birds to locate and exploit localised productive habitat within vast dynamic and stochastic landscapes, in this case recruiting new individuals to the population despite widespread unfavourable conditions within their core range.
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