Andean Cock-of-the-Rock from Peru

Ken Panchen, a previous leader of the group, is a widely travelled and knowledgeable birdwatcher. His fascinating talk covered the lifestyles and breeding methods of some birds from every continent.

 He showed extraordinary bird behaviour like the Emperor Penguin and the Capercaillie. His talk was illustrated with pictures and sound.  He covered the Andean Cock of the Rock and some extraordinary New Zealand parrots.

 The male Emperor Penguin has to incubate the egg, in the Antarctic winter, so the egg must not touch the ground, while the female disappears for some months.

 The male Cappercaillie is a black bird around the size of a Turkey and when in pursuit of a female gets taken over by testosterone and will attack any rival including a Land Rover. The Cappercaillie can be seen in Northern Scotland.

 A fascinating review of some of the more unusual behaviour of the birds we watch.