Yesterday my neighbour’s yard was home to a growling sort of sound and a magpie’s carolling. The growl sounded a bit like a Satin Bowerbird, a couple of which have been around my place lately. I peered through the hedge to locate the source of the sound and saw a magpie (one of a pair that have become pets around the local houses) carrying a mouse. It dropped it several metres from where I was watching and began pecking at it like a scavenger. I last saw this sort of behaviour by a cractacine a few years ago when a currawong chased and caught a rat.
Today I heard and saw a begging Koel in a tree in the western side carpark adjacent to the Archives Building (East Block). A Red Wattlebird was perched a couple of metres from it.
David Rosalky
