The Mad Woman Bird

Bush Stone Curlews (Burhinus grallarius) are birds standing 50 - 60 centimetres high, with long gangly legs, large yellow eyes, and grey-streaked upper parts. They are listed as threatened species by Australia goverment.

During the day they rest squatting down on their feet, head out and legs stretched forward, under the body to blend in with the ground; they come out for food in the evening. Bush Stone-curlews have a wide-ranging diet, but prefer to feed on insects, molluscs, small lizards, seeds and occasionally small mammals.

Their eerie wailing calls at night that makes them known as the mad woman bird or screaming woman bird. Another interesting fact about them, they prefer to crouch or to stalk stealthily off, then freeze, rather than fly when disturb. Their colour makes them hard to see in grassy woodlands and farmland (their common habitat area). Therefore, this tactic works well for visual predators like raptors (and humans) but it serves little purpose with introduced feral animals that hunt by scent like foxes.