Wild Bird Wednesday 422 - Apostlebird

These are Apostlebirds (Struthidea cinerea).  Their common name is probably derived from their behaviour - they are normally seen in groups, although I have never seen 12 in one place.

These birds, which seem to have an affinity to pipes and electrical cables (!), were photographed at a couple of location in the Northern Territory last year.  These birds often become used to people, and these birds were no exception - the pictures were taken on a 'flower bed' outside a cafe and in a camp site.

They are comical, active birds that breed in family groups - a behaviour which I believe is more common in Australia than in any other part of the world.

The birds are about 30cm long and make a variety of calls - which I assume are group contact calls.  I really liked having them around our camper van on this trip, they were fun to watch.

The conditions with Covid 19 seem to be slowly getting better here - thankfully.  I will make a huge effort to resume normal service this week.  Stay well and spread the word for WBW if you can.  Cheers SM.

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Wild Bird Wednesday 421 - Eastern Spinebill

The Eastern Spinebill (Acanthorhynchus tenuirostris) is a small honeyeater that can be found in the south eastern area of Australia.  It's actually one of the birds I get passing through my garden on a regular basis.  Their small size and high speed movement make them hard to photograph unless they keep returning to the same flowers to feed.

This male bird was feeding on some flowers at Blackburn Lake a month or more ago (maybe a year, maybe a decade - its getting hard to tell!) so I was able to wait for it to return.  Shame that the flowers were in rather deep shade.

The down curved bill and chest patch of this species is a bit of a give away as to their identity when you see them, as there is really no other bird in the region that sports this combination.  They can also hover in front of the flowers on which they are feeding, which also makes them pretty distinctive.

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Wild Bird Wednesday 420 - Eastern Rosella

I was having lunch on the weekend when I heard the silver whistle of Eastern Rosellas (Platycercus eximius) in the tress just outside the kitchen window.  There were two birds there eating the seeds of the Silver birch trees the grow between us and out next door neighbours.

The birds were very settled, but there was no way for me to photograph them other than through our winter-dirty window.  One must push on in these circumstances.

So, these pictures are not as sharp as I would like them - but they were the highlight of a lock-down weekend.

It may have been a better idea if this parrot had been called the South Eastern Parrot, as that more accurately describes its distribution.  I have seen them in my garden more often in the past few weeks than ever before - maybe the appreciate the reduction in bustle on the streets.  

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Wild Bird Wednesday 419 - Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoo

These birds are Yellow-Tailed Black Cockatoos (Calyptorhynchus funereus).  The pictures were taken a month or so ago when Victoria had a brief period when the C19 restrictions were lifted a little.  We are back in a solid lockdown here and I am not a happy chap!

These birds were feeding in a wattle tree, and the first picture is the closest I have got so far to capturing their classic 'bark shredding' behaviour when they are searching for grubs.  This flock of birds was flushed by the rather heavy footed approach of another birder - but I was able to get the picture of the birds with the blue sky as a result.

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Stay Safe. SM

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