Cook's Swift

Medium-sized honeyeater recorded at higher elevations in the ranges behind Mackay in central Queensland. Gray overall; underparts slightly paler, with fine streaks on chest difficult to see. Dark cheeks split by a thin white gape mark that wraps back under and behind the bluish eye; also has a faint, narrow neck plume. Call is a series of sharp, frantic-sounding whistles.

Slender gull-like seabird; the smallest of the three jaegers. Breeds on Arctic tundra; spends the rest of the year at sea. Difficult to separate from other jaegers, especially Parasitic. Breeding adults have an exceptionally long, pointed tail. Also note uniform brownish back contrasting with dark flight feathers, limited clean black cap, and pale yellow on the side of the neck. Immature birds have an attractive scaly pattern on wings and vary from dark brown to a pale grayish white. At all ages, note buoyant, tern-like flight. Typically shows white shafts only on two outermost wing feathers (fewer than other jaegers). Bill is shorter and proportionally thicker than other jaegers. Jaegers chase other birds and steal their food.

Small gadfly petrel. Gray upperparts and head, with darker “M” across wings. Underside white, with thin dark wing edge leading into a short diagonal bar cutting into the underwing. Main colonies breed on Mercury, Hen and Chickens, Poor Knights, and Ririwha Islands in New Zealand. Forages in warmer waters off the northern North Island. After breeding, migrates to the central North and Southwest Pacific. Cook’s Petrel is larger and paler but hard to differentiate at sea. Gould’s Petrel has a darker head, giving it a capped appearance, and more extensive dark on the underwing.