The Bush Stone-curlew (Burhinus grallarius) is a endemic bird of Australia. It is rather large, ground dwelling nocturnal bird. At night it hunts for small animals and insects.

I first saw this bird at night in a beach resort on a trip to Queensland, Australia in September 2012. It stayed motionless as I neared it. A pretty eerie sight. Apparently they hunt for small animals and insects in the night.

Early next morning, a few were seen gathered next to a building and a few wandered off to the lawn of the said building. They will walk quickly, and then suddenly stop motionless. A rather peculiar behaviour.

They seem very confiding, although the fact that they were in a beach resort had something to do with it.

A close-up of it’s head. This is an uncropped picture, showing how very close I was to the bird, without it even moving a muscle.

Later in the day, they were gone. I did see one hiding in a dense bush, so their survival skill is still present.