Aggressive Red Wattlebirds
Red Wattlebird
This morning I was suddenly aware of a noisy disturbance just outside my office window. I looked up to see three Red Wattlebirds locked in a furious battle in the garden bed. In fact, I thought at first it was only two fighting each other. As I reached for my camera, they flew off, and I saw that there had been three birds fighting.
What caused this kerfuffle? I have no idea. As they flew off two of them were aggressively chasing the third one. The battle may well have continued elsewhere.
Red Wattlebird
We had a pair of red wattlebirds in our Melaleuca and Callistemon tree for some years. They seemed to think they owned it. In the morning the noisy miners would arrive, and get chased away. In the afternoon a gang of lorikeets would arrive, and get chased away. That was always the noisiest.
The wattlebirds so believed that they were the king and queen of our backyard that they tolerated us with distain. They used to go for a dip in the dog’s water bowl, which was just outside our back door. They would dive in, come up, sit on the rim and shake their feathers, while looking at us.
Havent’ seen them for a few years now. They never nested in the backyard.
I have an interesting case in behaviour, concerning a Red Wattlebird, whom We affectionately call ‘The Bullybird’(BB), in reference to it’s attitude toward other birds. My family has 3 cats(all neutered)-two toms and a queen. The queen is a gentle creature that rarely hunts and only kills insects, our older tom patrols our territory ceaselessly, ousting infiltrating dogs, cats and mice from our property and has little interest in ornithology, and our younger tom is the hunter. Our name for him is Shade, and he is jet-black. BB has been pursuing an obsessive vendetta against Shade for over a year now. During the daylight hours, Shade has only to show his face at a window and BB swoops at him. When I’m hanging out the laundry, all 3 cats will usually accompany me. BB swoops Shade mercilessly, again and again, completely ignoring me and the other two cats. It will land on the clothesline, easily within arms’ reach of me, and hurl it’s rasping insults at Shade, before soaring past me with a great WHOOSH to swoop him again. It is boundlessly energetic, and frequently performs feats of aerial acrobatics that I would scarcely have thought possible. BB cares nothing for our other cats, and seems disappointed when they’re around and Shade is indoors. My two brothers, my mother, and I stay right out of this war. We only observe. Anyway, why do you think BB does this? Does it recognise in Shade a hunter? Has he wronged it in the past, maybe killing it’s young? Or is BB doing this solely to entertain itself? Or is their another likely explanation? I would be interested to hear of any similar cases. Respectfully, Wolvox.
Thanks for sharing your experiences with Red Wattlebirds Ken. They certainly can be very aggressive – at least they are in our garden.
It is interesting that you say you haven’t seen them for some years. Some of our native species have had their ranges usurped by introduced birds like the Common Myna (an Asian species) and the Noisy Miner (an Australian native species of honeyeater).
Thanks for your intriguing comments Wolvox.
I can offer no explanation for the wattlebird’s behaviour. It seems quite bizarre – almost as if it has gone far beyond the normal protection of young or a nest.
I wonder if it is a form of play, teasing and taunting the hunter as a challenge. I have heard of play routines amongst parrots in the wild – Galahs for example. With their beaks they will hang onto the guy wires supporting power poles and slide down to the ground, then fly up and do it all over again, screeching loudly like a group of children in a playground.
Moved to Qld 3 years ago but was back in Melbourne for a visit a couple of weeks ago. Didn’t see a Red Wattlebird anywhere. What’s happened to them all? Lots of Littles (or Brush as they’re now known) which used to be relatively uncommon.
Hi Peter,
Not sure what’s happened to them. I haven’t been to Melbourne for over two years, so can’t comment from personal experience. I also haven’t heard anything on the various birding forums I subscribe to, so I can’t throw any light on your question.
[...] in bright flowers. It is a stunning picture and we enjoy seeing it in flower for so long. The Red wattlebirds also appreciate the flowers and visit the bush many times each day for a [...]