I have yet to see the paired LBCs at Callum Brae but this
morning, inspecting hollows, was a mixed pair. This pair is quite distinctive,
being the pair I reported some weeks ago feeding on a nature strip in Griffith. The LBC
has a shiny metal ring of thin cylindrical metal, and the Little is an
obviously young bird. It might be useful in tracking what is going on,
miscegenation-wise, if observers note any rings on LBCs.
Also at Callum Brae this am 2 orioles were calling to one
another. One of them mimicked, intermittently, the conversational chatter
of a Crimson Rosella, a pair of which were feeding in the same tree.
Consulting my HANZAB just now, I find that the oriole is said to be ‘a
mimic with few equals’ and the Crimson Rosella is indeed on a very long
list of recorded mimicked species. Something of a trap for anyone
surveying or censusing by voice, I would have thought.
