We had a cacophony of birds in our Box Hill backyard yesterday.
At first it was the usual Rainbow Lorikeet gang calling while feeding on
blossoms but later in the day the Noisy Miners and Grey Butcherbirds became
extremely agitated. The source of the agitation was a lone Tawny Frogmouth
trying to catch a few ZZZZs.
The Frogmouth was perched on a relatively thin branch in a Willow Myrtle
and didn't look at all like the usual broken branch stub. The Butcherbirds
found him first and their calls attracted the Noisy Miners. The Noisy
Miners were very vocal but kept a respectable distance. The Butcherbirds
were far more aggressive and delivered some solid whacks to the back of the
Frogmouth's head. The Frogmouth responded exactly as described in the field
guide; head straight up with bill gaping, then a Kookaburra-like sound when
the Butcherbirds got close. The Butcherbirds would only make contact with
the Frogmouth when it was looking away.
The Noisy Miners gave up after about a few minutes but the Butcherbirds
continued to harass the Frogmouth for about ten minutes. All would be
quiet for an hour or so before the harassment would start again.
The Forgmouth had found another roost this morning.
David
This office is located on the land of the Kulin Nations
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