> I have also been swooped at by a male Red Wattlebird who clapped his bill
> at me in the same way that Australian Magpies do. I was in his territory
> (my garden) and I guess the bill snapping makes the attack more
> intimidating.
Willie Wagtails also do this. A pair nested in a stand of Argyle Apples
(Eucalyptus cinerea) between two carparks near where I work (Russell, ACT.)
The roadway between the two carparks must have fallen in their territory,
and walking along it usually earned a scolding from one of the birds, who
then proceeded to "buzz" you as it would a pesky Kookaburra etc. The attack
was mostly bill clacking separated by very short bursts of its scolding call,
and flicking from its wings. I don't think it actually touched you (it was
close enough to feel the wind, or perhaps the slightest brush), but since
the attack was deliberately aimed just behind your ear, it seemed more
intimidating than it actually was.
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Paul Taylor Veni, vidi, tici -
I came, I saw, I ticked.
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