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   

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5 comments:

  1. mickSeptember 19, 2010 at 3:37 PM

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

    ReplyDelete
  2. Denis WilsonSeptember 19, 2010 at 6:26 PM

    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

    ReplyDelete
  3. Tyto TonySeptember 20, 2010 at 1:56 PM

    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.

    ReplyDelete
  4. AndySeptember 21, 2010 at 1:39 PM

    Frequent visitor, do not comment often.
    Outstanding photos!

    ReplyDelete
  5. Tyto TonySeptember 22, 2010 at 8:39 AM

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

    ReplyDelete

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