Early last week I noticed a flock of 16 White-winged Choughs standing in a compact circular formation on the Holt Playing Fields behind Kippax Fair. It seemed a little
incongruous for these litter and mulch feeders to be located out on manicured turf. All the more so as light rain was falling and the mercury stood at 8 degrees while a stiff Brindabella breeze drove the drizzle and made the temperature feel like zero.
Perhaps the choughs had been chased there by a dog and had assumed a rounded protective formation (which apparently they are apt to do when caught out in the open) preparatory
to launching into a roiling, wing-flashing, screeching piebald mass described by Ian Rowley as “the plum pudding display.” Anyhow, no dog or other interloper appeared. However, another flock of 14 choughs came swaggering along the oval embankment and stopped
as if watching the first. Their apparent nonchalance indicated they were not being chased by a dog or subjected to any other duress and, after a few moments, continued along their way without descending the embankment to confront the first flock. This was
a little disappointing as watching chough internecine warfare can be quite entertaining.
John Layton
Holt.
