For Easter: Laughing With the Thrush (But Not the Toad)

LINK Chinese Melodious Laughing Thrush Song

(click on the above link to hear this bird's song!)

Easter morning here in Leilani Estates in Puna on the Big Island of Hawaii began with a composition of many different bird calls -- tiny peeps from the little Nutmeg Mannequins and olive green Japanese White Eye, distinctive brrrrrrr's from the Cardinals and of course the coo-cooing sounds from several varieties of doves.  However, nothing compares to the complicated, long songs of the Melodious Laughing Thrush.

To "find" these illusive birds, you never look for the birds themselves; they are all but invisible.  Their red/brown colors act as a natural camouflage -- unless they happen to be sitting on a stock of bananas. Instead, watch for the bobbing strands of bamboo orchids, the bounce of low shrub branches, or the waving motion of ferns.  Then, if you are lucky, you may see them hunting for bugs, but these reclusive birds will shy away at the slightest sound or movement.

Today, just for fun, I turned the speakers at the window by the computer to the outside where we could hear 2-3 of the Thrush calling to each other.  I played the U-Tube recording (ABOVE), pausing between phrases, to see how the Thrush in our yard would respond. It was an unexpected pleasure to hear them answer the recording, but it was a rare treat to see them come out of the bushes and into the orchids close to my window to check out the sounds.  It will be interesting to see what will happen if we play it a little each morning.


As I conclude this blog entry (Puna Midnight = 9pm) Phil is out with the toad stabber (I kid you not) hunting for the wayward cane toad.  We just don't want them around; They are highly poisonous and, unlike the thrush, their song being really obnoxious** Cane Toad Song LINK)  In Australia, cane toads are a devastating epidemic - their population estimated over 100 MILLION. They are infesting Queensland, New South Wales and Northern Territories and they are now moving into Western Australia.