Wild Bird Wednesday 518 - Rainbow Bee-eater

Although the Rainbow Bee-eater (Merops ornatus) is described as being a common bird in the guide books, I always get excited when I see them.  Maybe its because I really dont see them that often!

These birds were (more or less) the only ones I saw this summer past, and the only ones I was able to take pictures of.

They have a distinctive triangle shape to their wings in flight, and are wonderfully bright.  I saw these birds in the Mallee on a very hot day.  One of the things I like about these pictures in that they show a bee-eater eating bees!  

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Wild Bird Wednesday 517 - Little Raven

The Little Raven (Corvus mellori) is the default raven (or as most people would call them 'crow') in Melbourne.  You have to got further North and West in Australia to start getting true crows.

That being said, the identification of this bird is still not as easy as it seems as we also get Australian Ravens in parts of Victoria.  Based on the behaviour of this bird, which included wing flicks after calling, I almost confident of my ID!

I love the range of expressions these birds (or possibly this bird!) seem to have as they were looking for food.  The picture were taken a few weeks ago in a local park.

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Wild Bird Wednesday 516 - Australian Magpie

The Australian Magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen) may well be the most widely recognised bird in Australia.  Although there are regional variations in the amount of black and white shown by this bird, they are all considered one species.  Whatever the biological truth of the matter they are fascinating birds, and one that I see on a daily basis.

These birds are little way away from my usual haunts: these birds are feeding around a garden sprinkler in The Mallee region of NW Victoria.  It was a hot day, and I think that they were enjoying the 'rain' as well as the worms that the water was bringing to the surface.  These birds did seem to have the rare ability to only catch and eat the worms when they were stood behind an obstacle of some kind!!

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Wild Bird Wednesday 515 - Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

The Sulphur-crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) is an iconic and well known Australian bird.  I believe it was one of the first - if not the first - Australian bird that a long term contributor and friend of mine ever saw!  (Hello there!)

They are a loud, conspicuous and characterful species that can be seen in many places near where I live.  They often form flocks, and when they do, you tend to hear them before you see them.

Theses birds were feeding on fallen acorns in a park about 20 minutes from my house.  I really like the way you can see them using their feet as 'hands' in these images.

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