Sunday, September 19, 2010

Rufous Whistler gives game away

Male Rufous Whistler (Pachycephala rufiventris) gave the game away by flying to and fro with green caterpillar near a Tyto track today. 


Why not eat the juicy morsel? Because nearby juvenile needed food more. Youngster must have fluttered down from a nest. Quick pictures and left the pair alone. Both gone   an hour later.      
Click pix to enlarge   

5 comments:

mick said...

Very smart observations Tony. That juvenile hardly looks as if it could fly yet. The lack of tail feathers is really cute!

Denis Wilson said...

Mick is right. Watching "birdlings" like this one trying to fly is quite funny, really.
You were very sensitive to leave the chick and parent alone. Very vulnerable at that stage.
Yummy for one of your Pythons or Goannas.
Cheers
Denis

Tyto Tony said...

Hi Mick: Guess the tails just take up nest space and are not needed till are more or less ready to fly. You may have seen Black or Whistling Kites temporarily without any tail feathers and though probably lacking the finest aerial ability still able to compete with other kites in the air.

Hi Denis: Not such an unsafe place, halfway up scleria. Tree snakes might cruise by, but otherwise few predators hang about in the dry creek beds. Survive the first day or so and most young birds get back into 'safety' of low trees.

Andy said...

Frequent visitor, do not comment often.
Outstanding photos!

Tyto Tony said...

Thanks for your visits, Andy. You take some pretty good stuff, yourself.

Head up for dragonfly, head off for fish head . . .

One moment it's dragonfly trying to dance on White-bellied Sea-Eagle's head, the next it's all go for fisher's discarded fis...