Three times
in as many days a grey bird, the size of a House Sparrow
appears in the backyard close to a foraging Magpie-lark.
The scene
always goes like this: Magpie- lark is ground-feeding,
little grey bird appears in nearby shrub about 2 metres
above the ground and descends rapidly in a series of 60
centimetre zigzag leaps and begins to feed. If Magpie Lark
approaches to within 50 centimetres it retreats a couple of
metres employing a very quick scuttle – it does not hop like
a sparrow, and its every movement is very rapid – after it’s
retreated from the Magpie-lark 3 or 4 times it takes off and
flies away. Oh, and I’m at the kitchen window 15 metres away
and my binoculars are at the other end of the house, so
there’s not much to go on but can anyone make a suggestion?
