Mimicry by Magpie & other matters

[Paul Tyerman <>]

At 02:31 PM 7/04/2007, you wrote:
> Hi Barbara,
>  
> Sure, this story shows the potential. However learning to
> copy sounds, in the situation where a baby bird is imprinted on humans
> and deprived of learning its own species calls from its parents, is a
> different process from that of an adult bird copying a random range of
> other bird calls and using it as subsong mimicry. Just as many parrots
> raised by people will copy words but wild parrots don't
> mimic.

Howdy All,

A few years ago we had a young (wild) Magpie that wandered around
constantly chattering to itself in various birdsongs etc.  There
were kookaburras, rosellas, mobile phone, car alarm (I'm not
exaggerating, there were distinctly two different alarms/phones). 
It was a constant part of it's repertoire, sounding like one of those
senile older people who wander around talking to themselves
constantly.  This bird was still only just getting the black plumage
of an adult, so it obviously learnt it all at a young age.  We still
hear it, or others like it around our place.  Definitely a wild
bird, and definitely mimicing bird and other sounds as part of it's
song.

Other things to report...... other than one adult male in full plumage
high up in a gum tree years ago, we had the first ever Golden Whistlers I
had seen here in our street yesterday.  There were 2 of them,
neither of them in male adult plumage.  Going through the bird book
they were apparently golden whistlers, both in appearance and song. 
Very cool to see them, although would love to see a full plumage male one
of these days down where I can get a good look at it. <grin> 
Blue wrens were wandering through the remains of a banksia rose (we dug
it out years ago but left the remains that had grown onto the roof of out
garden shed.  Even dead, the birds just love wandering through it so
I didn't have the heard to remove it.) as well as some silver eyes and
thornbills (I think).  This is the first real signs of any of the
smaller birds since currawongs moved into our area a couple of weeks
ago.  With the currawongs here we have had a significant drop in
parrots and smaller birds in our garden.  The currawongs just seem
to be breeding out of control here, destroying so many of the other
birds! <sigh>  I miss all the little ones.

Cheers.

Paul Tyerman
Higgins, ACT




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