On Aug 29, 2006, at 10:07 AM, Christian wrote: > Sure, in NA we have some very nice looking birds: Indigo and painted > buntings, Scarlet Tanagers, Baltimore orioles, even goldfinches and > Cardinals. The difference I find in Australia is just how common the > brightly colored birds are. The lorikeets, rosellas and other parrots > are EVERYWHERE and in great numbers. The NA birds I mention above are > not as common and much more skittish (in my experience) than the birds > I've encountered in Oz.
It may have something to do with predators. The native marsupial predators in Australia are more primitive than the mammal predators we have in North America. Maybe that translates to less efficient predation. Also, bright colors are not a disadvantage when your predators are color blind. I think all marsupials are completely color blind. Our native mammal predators in NA are not completely color blind, although they do not see colors well. The predators that see color are other birds. I'd be interested to know how many birds of prey live in Australia. Bob -- PDML Pentax-Discuss Mail List [email protected] http://pdml.net/mailman/listinfo/pdml_pdml.net
