Hello all,
It was a sparkling Spring morning but little did I know that I was
shortly to be privileged to witness a giant step up the ladder of avian
evolution which in human terms is comparable to the use of fire or the
wheel. In this instance it was not the use of simple natural objects as
tools, no, it was the use of a sophisticated, manufactured device, used
as a weapon of attack, with devastating effect. As I stood at the large
window in our bedroom taking in the beautiful morning, a large
Sulphur-Crested Cockatoo (Cacatua galerita) swept in past the window to
land with a raucous squawk and much fanning of it's bright yellow crest,
on the pathway around the edge of the swimming pool below. This bird and
it's mate share a secret with my wife and myself, namely,that the blue
china bowl on the pool walkway, it's wooden lid held in place by a small
rock, contains a handful of sunflower seed
The bird then went through the appropriate procedures to get it's
reward. One of these involved removing the lid and depositing it on the
path about a metre away. Whilst this was being done, an intruder in the
form of a Pied Currawong (Strepera graculina ) that had been skulking
in the tree above, spotted the bounty now exposed, flew down and
commenced eating from the bowl. The Sulphur Crested hurriedly returning
confronting the the interloper who attempted to defend his prize. He was
finally forced to give way in the face of that crushing beak and the
terrible language.
During the tussle some of the seed was spilt onto the ground, which at
this point was about a metre below the walkway. The cockatoo returned
to the bowl and commenced feeding. Presently it raised it's head and
appeared to be listening apparently realising that instead of flying
off, the Currawong had jumped to the ground and was industriously
pecking at the spilled grain. The Sulphur-Crested turned it's head from
side to side in that rather characteristic manner they have and waddled
off down the walkway to where the focus of this epoch marking event
lay,--- a pink plastic bannister brush about thirty cms.long . This
brush is used to sweep up any extraneous bits left by messy feeders. The
bird tugged tentatively the handle then took a more satisfactory grip
at about the point of balance. Turning around, it made the return
journey of about four metres carrying this avian atomic bomb in it's beak.
In a very purposeful manner it waddled over to the edge of the walkway,
shuffled sideways until it was precisely over the hapless Currawong
feeding below. The cockie, refining it's aim, then stretched forward and
released the pink plastic bannister brush , scoring a direct hit on the
unsuspecting bird beneath.
This bird--, more shocked than hurt by the unexpected attack and the
hi-tech nature of the weapon used -- flew off shrieking, whilst the
innovative Sulphur-Crested returned to it's bowl triumphant, raising and
lowering it's crest and making grumbling noises which probably
translated to " Tomorrow the Stars .
Reg
St.Ives, NSW
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