aussiebirder

As the seasons turn, the weather is changing, birds are on the move and our coastal forest is left with fewer birds than have ever been experienced. The only three birds of any note we saw on our last walk together in our local nature reserve were one male Tawny Frogmouth, one Rufous Fantail and many Grey Butcherbird. We did briefly see one family of Superb Fairy-wren which eluded my camera. The Tawny Frogmouth is a very unique species of bird, and is often wrongly called an Owl. My book “What Birds Teach Us” explains the difference, and shows how though it has some Owl-like features it lacks the essential raptor features of an Owl. Click on the image below to find out more.

Here is this all alone sleepy Frogmouth my wife detected quite some distance from the track. These birds are night hunters, sleeping in a tree fork during the day, and usually in pairs, especially now as we move into their breeding season. They feed mainly on insects and small reptiles.

It was a thrill to see this Rufus Fantail in our reserve again. We usually only see it here in the winter months, so it is a little early, as it comes up the coast to escape the cooler conditions down there.

This is the beautiful Grey Butcherbird we saw calling to its mate. He was resting when we spotted him, before he took flight. This is the only species of Butcherbird we see in the Sydney area. Click image to enlarge it.

This week I thought to introduce you to my favourite bird (pictured above) and its relative species. The Butcherbird family I will showcase, is endemic to Australia.

The Grey Butcherbird

The beautiful song of the Grey Butcherbird is the most frequently and continually heard here throughout the day, Wherever I go, be it home or in our local nature reserves and forests its happy little call can be heard. Each morning at home when I hear my local male, I say: ‘ Butch is doing the rounds’ as he does while foraging for food. It is such a happy joyful sound, which is not just the same territorial call as in the case of the Laughing Kookaburra, because the Butcherbird has many tunes which it may vary throughout the day and during different seasons. This bird is found mainly in the southern of the mainland and Tasmania, but not in the northern.

People ask how did this lovely bird get such a nasty name, The answer is that it has been observed on occasion to hang its prey, a lizard, insect or small bird in the fork of a tree and hack away at it with its hooked beak. They may also impale the creature on a twig and leave it for ‘Ron (i.e. later-on – a dad joke sorry). Here are some more images. Note that the juvenile, as is the case with most other species of bird, is usually brown to match the tree and nest while it is in its most vulnerable state.

The Pied Butcherbird

This is also a favourite and is found all over Australia, but surprisingly not around Sydney despite field guides. Their beautiful chiming melodic calls are almost angelic and one of the most beautiful of all Australian birds. It is Pied because it has black and white plumage. I use to love hearing this bird in the early morning when as I was growing up, it has always been a morning treat when we travel outside of Sydney. Listen to this sample:

The Black Butcherbird

Is only found in Far North Queensland and NT. We see this bird when we visit Cairns. It is black, hence its name. It is quite an elusive bird to photograph.

The Silver-backed Butcherbird (race: colletti)

Some of my post Followers will recall we saw this bird for the first time a couple of years ago when we toured the Kimberley in far north WA where this bird is only found. It looks like a Pied but has a silver/grey back. It has a very unique call, which sounds at times like ‘gul-kio‘, which is similar to the call of one Grey Butcherbird I featured the call of earlier in this post. The other subspecies (race: argenteus) is only found nearby in NT, which I do not have in my collection. Here is the call of the Silver-backed while they are nesting:

The Black-backed Butcherbird also a bird we have not seen, lives in Far North Queensland in the same area as the Black Butcherbird and is almost non distinguishable from the Pied Butcherbird.

All Butcherbird have the strong thick hooked beak similar to the raptor for tearing and ripping flesh. When you look at the bird and its size you wonder how it could be such a threat. My grandmother hated them because they would coheres her Canaries to poke their heads out of the cage, and the Butcherbird would bite them off, so she would find headless birds. She had to double wire her cages. It remains of all the birds around my home, every time I hear the laughing sound of the Grey Butcherbird each morning and throughout the day, I smile and give thanks for my little friends who always brighten up my day. I always love seeing them our birdbaths:

Have a wonderful week and enjoy birding with your partner and/or family. Consider inviting, as we do from time to time, a group of friends, a couple or family along for a birding adventure which includes a coffee, breakfast or lunch at a nearby cafe. We always receive enthusiastic appreciation from participants, sharing how much they enjoyed the experience and learnt about their native birds. We always carry spare binoculars for our grandchildren and those who join us, this makes their experience all the more enjoyable.

Research has found that people who are essentially happy and joyful living with a positive attitude of gratitude are healthier and tend to enjoy longevity more than those who are essentially depressed, grumpy and negative in their outlook and speech. A happy person who enjoys frequent walking in nature is doubly blessed, as these together help boost the immune system and protect from disease, increase our energy levels, lower high blood pressure and help us maintain good healthy social and family relationships.

“A happy heart makes the face cheerful” – Proverbs 15:13. Happiness can be infective. A smile with a cheerful face is the best form of facial makeup we can display, and has the effect of blessing the one who sees us with a similar (reflective) response of a smile and a sense of being appreciated and acknowledged, which every one of us longs for and seeks daily. I can not count how many times I have been thanked for just conveying my joy and passion in a facial expression or smile and how it has helped and encouraged the receiver often in a difficult day which I had no knowledge of.

There is a difference however between happiness and joyfulness, Happiness depends on what is happening in and around us at the time, and may not be prolonged, but joy is a state of the heart or spirit which sustains one’s happiness through the sense of peace and hope in their life. Consider, it is difficult for one to maintain a happy attitude if they are not truly happy inside, not just their minds but, more so their soul and spirit. Guilt, unforgiveness, resentment and fearfulness all preclude us from a healthy happy life if left unresolved. The Bible tells us that true Joy is linked to one’s future hope and a sense of living in a conscious awareness of living in God’s presence forgiven and accepted by God as his saved child. King David sings in his Psalm 16 ” you [God] will fill me with joy in your presence.” Sadly many today live empty hopeless lives, floundering with lack of identity and believing in a world that was made by some Godless impersonal force which lacks purpose and meaning, but the Bible tells us otherwise. Nehemiah a prophet of old says: ” Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

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Adv. Dip. in Counselling and Family Therapy.

To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

And learn from them how to live a healthy and happy life.

NOTE: All photos, videos and music used on this website are photographed, composed, performed  by the site owner and remains his copyrighted property, unless otherwise stated. The use of any material that is not original material of the site owner is duly acknowledged as such. © W. A. Hewson 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, 2021, 2022, 2023, 2024.