I and the Bird #48
The latest edition of I and the Bird has been posted by Greg Laden on his blog. Plenty of good reading and links to a host of blogs about birds and birding.
Link:
- I and the Bird #48
- I and the bird – home page listing all previous editions of this bird carnival.
Red Capped Robin
For more bird photos go to my photo gallery here.
Little Wattlebirds in Victor Harbor
13 Comments »4th May, 2007; Category: Honeyeaters
A few days ago I wrote about our recent trip to Victor Harbor in South Australia I also wrote about the beautiful birds I saw feeding in the Bottlebrush (Callistemon spp) bushes and trees in the street where we parked.
In amongst all the Musk Lorikeet parrots on a feeding frenzy were a few Little Wattlebirds. There are several species of Wattlebirds native to Australia. The most common species around home here in Murray Bridge are the Red Wattlebirds. I have quite a few photos of this species but the Little Wattlebird has so far eluded me – until now. They were so intent on feeding that they took little notice of me and the camera only two or three metres away.
Click on the photo to enlarge.
Little Wattlebird
Distribution:
Little Wattlebirds are found throughout coastal south eastern Australia from near Brisbane through to Eyre Peninsula in South Australia. It is also found throughout Tasmania. Race lunulata, also known as the Brush Wattlebird, is found in south west Western Australia.
Habitat:
Little Wattlebirds prefer similar habitats to its slightly larger cousin, the Red Wattlebird. It can often be found in parks and gardens, woodlands with eucalypts and banksias, tea-tree scrubs and heathlands.
Breeding:
Little Wattlebirds nest in the latter half of the year, often in the spring. They lay 1 or 2 salmon pink eggs with reddish spots. The nest is a loose untidy cup of twigs, bark, and other plant materials.
A Confession:
I am on record on the Birding-Aus forum as saying that I consider the Little Wattlebird to be the most unattractive Australian bird. When I see this species up close, and look at the lovely photo above, I confess that I need to retract that statement. In its own way it is quite an attractive bird. It will never compete with the Superb Blue Wren or some of our finches, for example, but it is certainly not unattractive.
Noisy – yes, but not unattractive.
Birds in the News #80
The latest edition of Birds in the News # 80 has been posted here.
Articles in this issue include:
- A stunning photograph of a displaying Greater Prairie-Chicken with a link to many more photos of this species.
- News of a new species of Frogmouth from the Solomon Islands.
- Birds hurting people – details of an aggressive Red-Shouldered Hawk that has caused lacerations on a number of people it attacked in Miami.
- People hurting birds – road deaths in Florida.
- Birds helping people – a story about a parrot that helped an autistic child to talk.
- And many more articles and links.
Link:
Rainbow Lorikeet
Click on the photo to enlarge the image.
View more bird photos – and photos on many more subjects – on my photo gallery here.
Close views of Musk Lorikeets
2 Comments »2nd May, 2007; Category: Parrots and Lorikeets
Musk Lorikeet
A few days ago we travelled from home in Murray Bridge down to the south coast of South Australia. My wife wanted to attend the native plant sale in Victor Harbor. This was one plant sale we had never attended. After talking to the various people there that I knew I went out to the car to wait for my wife to finish talking and buying.
While sitting in the car my attention was attracted to the many Musk Lorikeets feeding on the flowers of the street trees. These trees were mainly bottlebrushes (Callistemon spp) in full flower. It was a delight to get so close to these beautiful little birds.
Musk Lorikeet
Distribution:
Musk Lorikeets are found in many parts of south-eastern Australia. They are found along coastal NSW and inland to the western slopes and plains, throughout much of Victoria, parts of Tasmania and southern South Australia. They are slightly larger than the well-known Budgerigar but with a shorter tail.
Habitat:
Musk Lorikeets prefer eucalypt woodlands and dry forests, roadside vegetation and timbered watercourses. They are also happy to raid orchards and are becoming common in parks and gardens were suitable flowering trees and bushes are present. Those that I saw in the street trees in Victor Harbor must have numbered in the dozens; their constant “zzitt-zzitt” calls as they fed was quite noisy.
Related articles:
- Great birding moments #17: Musk Lorikeets
- Victor Harbor – more articles from my archives about this delightful town.
POSTSCRIPT: This is the 500th posting on this blog. If you liked this article, why not visit some of the many other articles I have written? You can click on the Contents section on the side bar or you can choose a category that interests you lower down on the side bar. These will take you to listings of articles from the archives. Choosing the Archives in the Contents will give you a complete listing of all articles. Many of the articles have photos I have taken of birds.
This article was updated on 1st March 2017.
Birds in the News #79
This post is a little late – I’ve been busy on other matters.
The 79th edition of Birds in the News can be found here.
This edition features many interesting articles and links, including:
- A wonderful photo of an egret in an unusual pose.
- An article about the mating of Prairie Chickens.
- Gentoo and Rockhopper Penguins.
- A link to a video showing an amazing parrot that is able to do all kinds of tricks, including play golf and basketball.
- And much more.
Link:
- Birds in the News # 79