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We have our own chough family (last brood left
the nest on 7 May) who, because of their home ground advantage and esprit de
corp, are only second to cockatoos in the pecking order of our yard (above
galahs, gang gangs and magpies).
They have their daily routine which includes some
recreational playtime. Photo shows one of their toys, a child's wind sock
that they found somewhere and flew in to our place over the rooftops.
Another game is to enjoy the delights of gravity by flinging pegs out of the
pegbasket on the clothes line and watch them plummet to the ground.
A further game involves a vigorous wrestle
with a large leaf (such as a loquat) or piece of bark. The aggressive leaf
or bark can pin the chough down on its back and in the hand-to-hand (claw-to-?)
struggle both combatants will roll over and over.
A couple of local currawongs get excited at some of
these games and want to join in but of course "The Family" says "no"
firmly.
The currawongs have now started to try these 2
particular games themselves when the choughs are away. Laying on ones back
shaking a large leaf in the air seems a most un-currwong like
behaviour.
Lindsay Nothrop
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