Hi Mercury subscribers - particularly those of you with some knowledge of local birds.

Perhaps you could identify a bird which has been driving me nuts of late.

It starts about 5am, well before the other birds - most of which have some manners, perhaps even a little dignity (brush turkeys and white cockatoos, I don't include you).

This one - working title is the shrill-throated idiotbird - has neither dignity nor decorum.

Its call begins innocently enough (apart from the hour) as an exploration, a question.

Are you there?

Then repeats. And repeats, escalating slightly in pitch.

Upon receiving no response it escalates into an increasingly shrill panic song.

And of course it receives no response - it sounds stupid. What right-minded lady bird would go for this clown?

I've tried to help him out - "hey she's just not that into you" ... "have you thought about trying a new song?" ... "that call's really not working for you eh?" ... to no avail.

After the 5am start - which is mine too, now - it calls all day.

You can listen to an audio recording of the bird taken this week near bush in the northern suburbs of Wollongong here.

I had to edit this clip carefully because if he hears the recording by chance, and thinks he's maybe in with a shot, we'll never hear the end of it.

Dash, I think he heard it. Here we go again.

So here's hoping that by identifying the thing I might be able to learn a little more about it.

Perhaps my assumption is wrong and it's not a mating call but a mother looking for her lost chicks. Then I'll owe the shrill-throated idiotbird a sincere apology.

Let us know.

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