It's not always like this (thankfully).
A couple of weeks ago in our Queanbeyan backyard, one of the local young
Magpie-larks (only three or four weeks since fledging) was doing his best to
find his own food in the backyard. He had just enjoyed a drink at our
birdbath with his wonderful mother (another story in itself) who had flown
off, probably to check on the more dependent of her two youngsters.
A pair of mynas had turned up and were waiting for a drink from the birdbath
in the hot weather and one of them thought his time had come when the mother
Magpie-lark had flown off and only a single juvenile remained, fossicking on
the ground. But within a few seconds of landing on the edge of the birdbath,
the myna was confronted by the young Magpie-lark, who, in no uncertain
terms, conveyed the message that the myna was not welcome and promptly
resumed control of the birdbath.
At the risk of sounding a tad anthropomorphic, I must confess to feeling
considerable pride on behalf of one of our newest local residents. I'm not
sure if the result would have been the same if there were more than two
mynas (or is it just that the mynas may have been only youngsters
themselves?).
Regards,
Leo.
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