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Late yesterday afternoon I sat in the backyard just on dusk comfortably
insulated against the chill doing nothing more than taking in the smell of
wet grass and eucalyptus trees when I was regaled by a male Common Blackbird in
full song. He perched on power cables 5m above me and was no tyro when it came
vocalisations – a seasoned old trooper indeed. Bit of a jazz man too
as what seemed like clever riffs and improvisations floated down but I couldn't
detect any impersonations.
Then, as dusk thickened, a second entertainer arrived on the scene but it
was no vocalist, I've heard its "song" before, rather it was more le
bateleur – a brush tail possum came scampering along a data cable
strung 2m beneath the power lines, its tail swishing like a fluffy metronome as
it maintained equilibrium.
The blackbird quit its song and swooped continually at possum chittering
angrily as possum lost balance and in a flash was upside down
paws clinging to cable and end of prehensile brush wrapped around it. It
remained motionless for a moment as if contemplating the world from its inverted
perspective while the bird pressed home its aggression. Then possum got moving
again remaining inverted but scurried along as quickly as before with tail
looped loosely around the cable and the bird shadowing it. Soon the two were
swallowed up by the gloaming and the bird's scolding faded. It returned to the
power cable some 3 minutes later and sang sporadically as darkness descended and
a noisy minor hollered, "Chow's up! Come and get it." – crepuscular
repose shattered.
John Layton
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