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These reports remind me that I recently saw a Noisy miner toying carefully and very deliberately with a bee in our Ainslie garden. When I eventually went closer, the bird flew off and I could see that it had opened the insect's abdomen with a precise lengthwise
incision and licked out the contents (it was this licking action I saw). The insect was still moving, but must have died soon after.
Clearly, the bird knew it had to avoid the sting and how to do that, and knew that the meal would be worth the considerable effort involved.
Steph H
On 24 Oct 2016, at 11:16 AM, Suzanne EDGAR <> wrote:
Oh dear!!!
& I keep finding little clumps of baby magpie feathers, left by resident Currawong; caught it in the act of dealing with them just
now
Sz
From: Graeme Clifton
Sent: Monday, 24 October 2016 11:07 AM
To: COG List <>
Subject: [canberrabirds] Willy Wagtail nest predation, Wanna Wanna Rd
I never did like Noisy Miners much.
This morning I saw a Noisy Miner being harassed by Two Willy Wagtails. It had wool in its beak and I assumed it was raiding the nest for nesting material. But no it dropped the wool and pecked some more from what turned out to be the
Willy Wagtails nest. It then flew down to the ground while still being set upon by the WW's.
After a minute or so the Noisy Miner left with nothing in its beak. I inspected the area and found a damaged nest about 1.5m above the ground and on the ground under it was an egg shell.
No doubt about it, I saw a Noisy Miner eating the contents of a WW egg.
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