Grey Butcherbird

All posts tagged Grey Butcherbird

Yellow Rosella

Last weekend my wife and I drove to Wagga Wagga to celebrate her birthday with her siblings who had congregated there, and catch up with extended family. As most of you are aware her sister lives on Lake Albert where we often go birding on our visits, for western birds not common to our area, of which there are few, especially during the present change of seasons and post heavy rains.

Yellow Rosella

Yellow Rosella

Yellow Rosella

The main bird of interest was the Crimson Rosella of the yellow race, which was previously known as the Yellow Rosella, and rightly so, as there is very little crimson at all on the bird. I consider if you are going to change a name to group it with another it should at least look like the descriptive name. This beautiful bird is seen feeding from flowers in the bright morning sunshine on Resurrection morning. I love when it hangs upside down and looks at you.

Yellow Rosella

Of course there are the usual waterbirds, but not many as the rise in water level meant the wetlands were difficult for waterbirds to feed on the weed below.

Australian Pelican resting in the morning sun

Australian Pelican resting in the morning sun

A pair of Australasian Wood Duck resting in the morning sun

A pair of Australasian Wood Duck resting in the morning sun

The morning chorus always commences here with the resident Eastern Aussie Magpie clans calling in chorus to each other to remind each other of their territories and catch up on the latest news. We just sit on the verandah and take it all in.

This guy is listening for larvae which he can hear with his very acute hearing in the soil beneath the grass. This ability is taught to him as a youngster, and this food is a major source, which is another reason why we should not reed these wild birds. They actually protect our lawns from pests. These Crested Pigeons were also catching the morning sun as the morning begin to be cool.

Crested Pigeons

Crested Pigeons

Crested Pigeons

Crested Pigeons

Down by the lake the trees were buzzing with the sound of the Common Starling which breeds there. They do look quite beautiful iridescent in the sunlight.

Common Starling

Common Starling

Starlings resting in afternoon sun

Starlings resting in afternoon sun

This lone Red Wattlebird tried to join them but was not welcome by the clan.

Red Wattlebird

As I walked around the lake I was pleasantly surprised to find this Grey Shrike-thrush under a bush foraging in the late afternoon light.

Also in the grass nearby as I sat on the grass and watched, was many Superb Fairy wren, hopping happily about close to the reeds, where they quickly find cover. Some were going through their first morph (coming out of eclipse to breeding plumage) as they can breed several times in a year, they are a very sexually active bird.

male morphing

male morphing

male morphing

male morphing

two young females exploring

two young females exploring

the rear of the morphing male

the rear of the morphing male

Non breeding male

Non breeding male

Feeding in the grass was this pair of Red-rumped Parrot, which we always see here. The male constantly checked that I was not a threat. Only the male has the red rump, the female has the green one. This bird can be mistaken for the Turquoise Parrot from a distance.

This Willy Wagtail, a true Aussie flycatcher, was busily communing with members of his family as I studied him.

This bird is features in my first book as a very brave little bird, which it is when nesting, and a bird that survives well because of this. It is amazing how effective this little bird is, as you might remember how it stands up to much larger birds which could eat it, such as the Magpie and Kookaburra.

Most of the day flocks of Galah constantly fed on the grass seed by the lake, which is normal custom for the Parrot family after Summer has passed and the grass has seeded.

One last western bird we always see here is the very tiny White-plumed Honeyeater, as it busily feeds on the flowers high on the canopy of the River Gums, as well as searches for available lerps.

Have a most enjoyable week and weekend !

If you have not done so yet check out my new book release Flight of a Fledgling and take advantage of the 2 book deal (Book 1 and Book 2) which is going for a short time. Both books are available on my website. Click on the picture below to go to the page.

All adults, and especially Young Adults and late teens, can benefit from this book and gain insights into the modern research on our amazing birds. Posted to your address. Thankfully for you overseas Followers, due to our current absences of the Covid, Australia is able to send to most all countries.

Lastly, I want to share an observation of my little mate ‘Butch’ the Grey Butcherbird who sings to me throughout the day. He decided to clean out our gutters on the garage, and found food there, including a skink. This caused me to later clean them out properly, as I did not realise till he threw out so much leaf litter, how clogged they were.

checking me watching

checking me watching

Butch with skink in beak

Butch with skink in beak

““Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life? …” – Matthew 6:25-34

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W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

So we can 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.

Grey Butcherbird

As Aussiebirder I often get asked “What is your favorite bird?” and many get surprised when I tell them it is the Butcherbird. They become even more curious when they immediately go looking for it in my book and discover it was not included. Many of you who follow my blog know how my resident Butcherbird family, headed by Butch, make me smile and say “How beautiful !”, as they sing constantly through the day. Further up the coast where I lived much of my life, the Pied Butcherbird has one of the most amazing chimes, which would also delight me every morning.

Pied Butcherbird

Sydney and the north east coast of NSW has been pounded with rain, breaking all previous recorded records, creating state of emergency due to the extensive damage and loss of life caused by massive flooding of our big rivers. As this is occurring as I write this, I have not had an opportunity this week to leave my house, other than to shop in the very small windows when the rain was least intense so this week the Butcherbird family are featured.

Black Butcherbird

Of the now five species of Butcherbird four are endemic to Australia. The Grey and Pied are the most common and are found over much of the continent, but only the Grey Butcherbird is present in Tasmania. The Black, Black-backed and Silver-backed are only found in the top end of Australia in Far North Queensland and northern parts of WA and NT. The Black-backed Butcherbird is also found in New Guinea. Of the five species we have only laid eyes on the three pictured above.

Juvenile Grey Butcherbird

As you can see from the profile of the juvenile Butcherbird, even from a young age, the large powerful hooked beak is a classic feature of this omnivorous bird, which mainly consumes small reptiles, birds and rodents as well as the odd insect and fruit. They derive their name from their unusual custom of hanging their prey like a butcher hangs his meat on a meat hook, usually in the fork of a tree or crevice or on broken branch for later consumption, like a butcher’s cool room. Though I personally have never seen one ever do this, this is how it apparently was named.

Grey Butcherbird in flight with lizard

The male may also do this to impress a new mate and present her with food, to show he is a good provider and that he will feed her when she mounts the nest to incubate the eggs. The hooked beak is feature like raptors for tearing prey. Here are some immatures calling in the morning to their parent.

Butcherbirds usually have 2 to 3 nestlings each season. My father of our local Grey Butcherbird clan brings his juvenile youngsters to visit me and introduce them to our source of water and shade.

Butch’s youngsters

Butch growing up

The Butcherbird is one of Australia’s most musical songbirds, and can be heard all through the day calling with varied calls. At different times of year they will tend to use particular calls, but their laughing call delights me every time I hear it and makes me smile in my heart and give thanks for having the privilege of having this little clan so close. I can actually hear him laughing as I write this.

The Pied Butcherbird is not found around Sydney but is further up the coast. Listen to the melodious chimes of this bird, which are hauntingly beautiful in the early morning. These were the first sounds I would hear each morning when I lived in the country.

This immature Pied is practicing his song.

This is the Western race of the Pied Butcherbird which inhabits the desert regions and is more contrasting than our Eastern race. We saw this guy at Uluru in the red centre.

Pied Butcherbird western race

The Black Butcherbird we only see on our trips to Far North Queensland. It is all black, and has its own peculiar call but not as melodious as the other two. When we first heard it calling we initially thought it was the Orange-footed Scrubfowl which lives up there also as it sounded similar. When we could not find it after looking low in the scrub we looked up and found it was a pair of Butcherbirds, but they were very shy.

Black Butcherbird

We would see this juvenile each morning sitting out near our open air dining area.

juvenile Black Butcherbird

It is hard to believe that as the juvenile develops it will one day turn black when it matures.

Black Butcherbird immature

This little guy had found something but not sure what.

Black Butcherbird

Have a wonderful week. We are all recovering from the heaviest week of rain ever experienced on the east coast of Australia, with extensive destructive flooding which continues even today on a clear blue sky, as the rivers continue to rise. We had the drought, then the fires and smoke, then the Covid, and just when were starting to get back to normal, the flooding rains… this is Australia.

Click on the pic below to see some news footage from Channel 9, of a man saving his pet Emu from the flood waters:

“But ask the animals, and they will teach you, or the birds in the sky, and they will tell you; or speak to the earth, and it will teach you, or let the fish in the sea inform you.
Which of all these does not know that the hand of the Lord has done this?
In his hand is the life of every creature and the breath of all mankind.” – Job 12: 7-10 (NIV)

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W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

So we can 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.

Thank you my dear friends for following my blog throughout turbulent 2020. This will my last word for the year. Interesting enough I went for a walk today to exercise, as Sydney is dealing currently with another Covid outbreak. After the rain and almost winter-like weather of the past few days it was very quiet in my local bush park, with very few birds and people. So I figured this last one will be simple and short. We are all very thankful that our government is very proactive and responsible to the health and well being of us all, and grateful that we have made it thus far in what is the most extraordinary year in our lifetime.

Australian Christmas Bush flowers

My Christmas card above features the Scarlet Honeyeater male, a bird that appears before Christmas, coinciding with the flowering of our native Christmas Bush, as well as, the call of the Eastern Koel in the early morning.

These among many other signs tells us that we approach the time for us all to kick back , relax and celebrate both the birth of Jesus and the coming new year, as we put the passing one behind. For many this will be a time of grief, suffering and sorrow. We pray for the comfort and recovery of the hundreds of thousands experiencing this in this moment. Every one of us has lost something or someone this year, we are all grieving at different levels. No one escaped loss, just as if it were a world war, and it is not over yet. As I walked along the quieter than usual bush track I stopped to watch and hear something very special and unique. A Grey Butcherbird conversing with a pair of Australian Magpies. In my recent studies and research I have learned that many of Australia’s intelligent birds can communicate between species, as they learn their languages by listening and observing intently. I apologise for the loud Cicada background, yet another sign of Australia’s bush Summer. I recorded this:

What one needs to be aware of it that the Butcherbird is quite capable of copying and speaking with the Magpie, as is the Magpie to the Butcherbird. The call of the Butcherbird in the above recording is not one of his usual Butcherbird calls, he is actually speaking in Magpie. For example, listen to this immature Butcherbird practicing, and recalling mimicry it has learnt from other birds.

This exercise between birds is not only good for improving relationships, but is very useful in times of emergency when either of the birds need assistance to locate and mob a common predator or warn to take flight. This brought me to think, what have we learnt this year? Great challenges are opportunity for greater learning.

Eleven lyrebirds around a small farm dam with smoke in the air.

Eleven lyrebirds can be seen in the image as a bushfire near Wollombi approached (Supplied: PJ Wallis for ABC News 30th Jan 2020)

Bushfire, drought, flood and Covid were all great challenges in 2020 from which many positive lessons were gleaned, to help us navigate the future. They rallied the community back to the mate-ship of the Aussie battler, that made Australia great back in our early post convict days when ex convict married ex convict and toughed it out in the bush to carve out a home and a family, because they could not afford to go back to Britain. My ancestors also married as ex convicts and established a town in NSW. For those interested rediscover the old the TV series “Against the Wind” to get an idea of the difficulties. These new settlers (all mostly ex convicts) learned to trust and assist each other through the difficult times of establishing a living from nothing, from which arose the Aussie mate-ship, which carried us into the world wars and helped make our nation famous for the ANZACS and the friendly warm helpful reputation we once received from other nations.

The Superb Lyrebird knew what to do to save itself from the firestorm, gathering their mates they fled to the dam. Many species managed to survive using amazing survival skills, learnt and possibly passed down from somewhere in the past.

The Australian Wood Duck has always survived well because both parents have their priorities always before them, keeping them faithful in both relationship with each other and care of the family. Many have rediscovered the importance of family and family relationships, and had to modify the importance of the peripheral things of life, such as job, possessions, sports and money, which for many had taken the place of THE most important – family relationships. The Covid made us all aware of our own fragile humanity, and that we are all vulnerable and all need each other to survive. We are not a rock or an island as Simon and Garfunkel once erroneously suggested. For our northern friends this song is set ‘in a deep and dark December’.

Thankfully we already had the technology to create such meeting places as Zoom to tide us over the Covid lock downs, and create new and more efficient ways to work from home, and have more family and home time. We began to carve out a new kind of normal. A list of new words arose which became common place in daily conversation, and a new awakened responsibility for one’s own health and the health of those in their daily life. The Australian White Ibis in my book “What Birds Teach Us” is an example of support, security and strength in community.

I wish you all a very enjoyable Christmas and a healthy, blessed and prosperous New Year. May it be better and may we all grow more resilient and mindfully learn to experience peace and contentment in what ever circumstance we find ourselves in so that we can be comfort and strength for others. Regardless of what popular opinion has become in recent years, and the removal of Christ from Christmas, he remains: The Reason for the Season. It still amazes me that one so loving and kind, who has brought so much good into our world and our culture, can be feared and despised by so many, even fear from declaring his name with respect, fear that even drives people to kill and injure people who love him and live the life of love he encourages, which continues to be the case in many countries in our world today.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” – 2 Corinthians 1:3,4 (NIV)

W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

‘So we can 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.

Grey Butcherbird trying to cool down

The last few days have seen the hottest temperatures for November on record here in Sydney, and much of NSW Friday 36°C (97°F) followed by Saturday 41°C (106°F) with an early morning temp of 30°C (86°F) making sleep an ordeal for many. In the midst of the Friday heat I set out see how the birds in my local reserve were faring, and found most of them sensibly taking the usual precautions for extreme heat, as Aussie birds have learnt to do. I thought it worthwhile to review the ways our birds deal with very hot Aussie days. You may be surprised to know that birds have a higher body temperature than most other creatures (around 40°C) which rises with their very active high metabolic rate.

1. Thermoregulation (panting): When it gets too hot for birds you will see them with their mouths open and silently panting to release heat from inside the body by evaporation in to the air from the mouth (beak). Birds pant like we do when hot for the same reason. One of interesting things each bird I saw on my walk and even the Grey Butcherbird ‘Butch’ above and his son (below), when they visited the birdbath held their mouths continually open. The Grey Butcherbird seldom hangs around the birdbath, but today he and junior did.

Immature Grey Butcherbird

Immature Grey Butcherbird

Immature Grey Butcherbird

Immature Grey Butcherbird

As I walked through the reserve, no one passed me, I was alone with the birds, many very quiet in the heat of hottest time of the day, but they mostly displayed the same cooling mechanism.

Aussie Magpie

Aussie Magpie

Kookaburra

Kookaburra

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike

Black-faced Cuckoo-shrike

Aussie Magpie

Aussie Magpie

Dusky Moorhen in the heat

Dusky Moorhen in the heat

Kookaburra

Kookaburra

2. Shade and rest (inactivity): One of the first steps to dealing with hot sun is to get out of its direct heat by resting under shade. Shade and resting under it, both together assist to decrease excess body heat, as work or burning energy with our bodies naturally produces heat, so to rest in the shade is a dual help. Most of the birds were standing or lying idle in the shade when I saw them. Interesting, the always very active Brown Thornbill was even allowing me to photograph it, a rarity.

Noisy Miners resting in shade

Noisy Miners resting in shade

Brown Thornbill resting

Brown Thornbill resting

Rare to see a Thornbill not moving

Rare to see a Thornbill not moving

resting with his prey in mouth

resting with his prey in mouth

Red Wattlebird

Red Wattlebird

Sacred Kingfisher resting

Sacred Kingfisher resting

Pied Currawong resting with prey in mouth

Pied Currawong resting with prey in mouth

Sacred Kingfisher resting

Sacred Kingfisher resting

I found that the several Eastern Water Dragons I saw on the track were actually sunning themselves in the shade, which is quite extraordinary.

Eastern Water Dragon in sunning position

Eastern Water Dragon in sunning position

3. Bathing in or standing in cool water: Water is a very effective means of quickly dissipating body heat, especially if the water is splashed over the areas of naked skin on the bird’s body, by lifting wings and thrashing, and lowering face under the water. This is why birdbaths maintained by thoughtful humans are a great asset to local Aussie birds, especially in heat waves. Birds know where reliable water is found, and tell their mates. They also know when you refill or refresh the baths, returning seconds later to use them. See my special article on birdbaths on my Homepage. If a bird has not enough water for bathing, just standing in the water will assist to thermoregulate their body temperature as their legs and feet are actually cooling radiators for their hot body core. This why it is wise to place bird baths under trees in shade. It keeps the water cool and gives them safe fly in and out places to rest and preen.

Alpha Male Aussie Magpie standing quietly in cool water.

Cooling face first

Then the whole body

We saw these Apostlebirds when we were out west a month ago cooling off ona hot day, you may remember the the video.

Or these Rainbow Bee-eaters using the super quick diving in technique to bathe in a lake in Cairns. The video is half normal speed.

Our own local Noisy Miner coalition, headed by Noisy himself do the same,

4. Spreading wings and ruffling feathers: to expose underlying skin: This is usually done when there is a breeze and best after having a bath as the residual water helps to further cool them down.

Eastern Great Egret with wings out to cool in the heat

These waterbirds showed no heat problem as they were in a cool shady part of the pond, and the water offered a good heat dissipation process considering they were in and on it most of the day. The juvenile Dusky Moorhen and the Chestnut Teal family seemed quite rested.

Dusky Moorhen juvenile

Dusky Moorhen juvenile

Dusky Moorhen adult watching juvenile

Dusky Moorhen adult watching juvenile

Chestnut Teal duckling

Chestnut Teal duckling

Lastly, the flowering of the Australian Christmas Bush, is the bush herald of that soon to be celebratory season around the corner. It was lovely to see so much of it in full bloom even in the intense heat.

Aust. Christmas Bush flowers

Aust. Christmas Bush flowers

Aust. Christmas Bush

Aust. Christmas Bush

Enjoy your week and stay safe and cool. If you are birding make sure you stay well hydrated and sheltered from the sun, with hat and sunscreen lotion. Be on the lookout on the path ahead for snakes sunning themselves on the track and stamp your feet in uncertain areas before proceeding.

My book “What Birds Teach Us” the perfect Christmas gift, is available here online or at any of the listed shops here.

It was interesting to find some birds of a specie faring poorly in the heat and others quite unaffected, as was the case for these two siblings, I always meet on the track (I call the twins) as they are always together, and are immature, almost mature late in their third year. They trust me and will allow me to stand and pass within inches without moving away. I found another lying in the blazing sun for several minutes. They usually do this to assist spreading their preening oil and to rid their plumes of lice, but today ? Magpies forage and feed on the ground unlike most passerines. Each bird is an individual and each is affected differently by their environment and lifestyle, similar to us humans. My wife hates being cold, and I love it, but I hate being hot and humid and she loves it. I enjoy red wine she enjoys white. She prefers appearance and I prefer practical. She hoards and I am tidy keeping a minimum of possessions. I enjoy being and working in quiet peaceful places whereas she loves having her music playing when she works or rests at home. Learning to respect and accept each others differences, is an important aspect of love in any relationship – we all need To Give A Little Love

“Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults [differences] because of your love.” – Ephesians 4:2 (NLT)

“Get rid of all bitterness, rage, anger, harsh words, and slander, as well as all types of evil behavior. Instead, be kind to each other, tenderhearted, forgiving one another.” – Ephesians 4:31 (NLT)

“Love is patient and kind. Love is not jealous or boastful or proud, or rude. It does not demand its own way. It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged” – 1 Corinthians 13:4,5 (NLT)

W. A. Hewson (Adv. Dip. Counselling & Family Therapy).

‘To introduce people to our unique Australian birds,

‘So we can 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.

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