Territory! Ravens vs Lorikeets

The National Parks and Wildlife Service recently did a hazard reduction burn in the area where I often go for a walk. This morning, a group of Rainbow Lorikeets occupied some bare branches with a strategic view of the newly cleared area. Right next door, a collection of ravens had the same idea. They viewed each other for a while, then all hell broke loose.

Turn up the volume to get the full effect! Listen to the bawling ravens and the scolding parrots. When things really get hectic, hear the whop-whop-whop of wings swooping overhead.

Here’s a closeup of some of the ravens, in their best villain pose:

Common name: Australian Raven
Scientific name: Corvus coronoides
Approximate length: 50 cm
Date spotted: 10 June 2023 (winter)
Location: Dobroyd Head, New South Wales, Australia: 33°48’36.6″S 151°16’23.9″E

And the I’m-so-pretty, butter-wouldn’t-melt-in-my-mouth pose of the lorikeets:

Common name: Rainbow Lorikeet
Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 10 June 2023 (winter)
Location: Dobroyd Head, New South Wales, Australia: 33°48’36.6″S 151°16’23.9″E

Rainbow Lorikeet practising its dance

A Rainbow Lorikeet swooped down onto the branch of a Casuarina tree and treated me to a little dance. I think it was practising, because there were no other lorikeets around, and the bird’s movements weren’t as fluid as others I’ve seen. A little practice was needed before trying out the dance on a potential breeding partner!

Common name: Rainbow Lorikeet
Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 28 April 2023 (autumn)
Location: Manly Dam, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’38.6″S 151°14’55.6″E

Rainbow Lorikeets enjoying our Banksia flowers

One of our Banksia trees has covered itself in blooms. The local Rainbow Lorikeets are delighted. A delighted lorikeet is a noisy lorikeet! In fact, anyone who lives near these birds will tell you that a lorikeet in any type of mood is a noisy creature.

One day was quite breezy. I like this video because of the way the bird hangs on to the Banksia flower as it sways in the wind, and because you get a chance to see the bird’s colourful underside as well as its topside.

Here are a couple of the birds lurking on a nearby tree before making the hop down to the Banksia:

I’m so lucky to have these pretty, chatty little birds dropping in regularly to see what’s what.

Common name: Rainbow Lorikeet
Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: November 2021 (spring)
Location: Australian east coast, about 20km north of Sydney

Rainbow Lorikeet feeding on Banksia flower

Rainbow Lorikeets have a brush-shaped tongue, which they use to lick nectar off flowers. This little lorikeet is feeding on a Heath Banksia flower:

Common name: Rainbow Lorikeet

Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus

Approximate length: 30 cm

Date spotted: 6 June 2020 (winter)

Location: Allambie Heights Heath Walk, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’08.3″S 151°14’45.7″E

Birding at home

Like many people, I’m currently working from home to stave off the Coronavirus. There’s a great hashtag on Twitter at the moment: #BirdingAtHome. As a contribution to that hashtag, here are some of the birds I’ve seen at home over the last few days.

Laughing Kookaburra

Scientific name: Dacelo novaeguineae | Approximate length: 47 cm | Date: 17 March 2020

Grey Butcherbird

Scientific name: Cracticus torquatus | Approximate length: 30 cm | Date: 17 March 2020

I think this may be a juvenile, as the lines between the black and white sections of plumage are not well defined. The bird is on a Sydney Red Gum, one of my favourite trees, and currently the biggest tree in our garden:

Australian Magpie

Scientific name: Gymnorhina tibicen | Approximate length: 40 cm | Date: 17 March 2020

This inquisitive Australian Magpie landed on the roof of our porch and peered down at us. It was in a perfect spot to achieve a weird doubling effect with its reflection in the window. The real bird is on the left:

You can see the bird’s head and shoulders at the top and its feet at the bottom. Here’s another pose by the same bird in the same spot on the roof:

The magpie then hopped in through the window and examined the place:

A couple of days earlier, a juvenile magpie (note the soft grey colouring) posed like a statue on a pedestal. The pedestal is the trunk of a tree fern that died off a while ago:

A side view of the same bird on the same perch:

Pied Currawong

Scientific name: Strepera graculina | Approximate length: 45 cm | Date: 11 March 2020

Currawongs are not quite as bold as magpies. They tend to view human activity from afar and swoop past when something interesting is going on. This one chose a mossy perch that showed off its dark plumage and yellow eyes:

Musk Lorikeet

Scientific name: Glossopsitta concinna | Approximate length: 23 cm | Date: 18 March 2020

I don’t often see Musk Lorikeets. At the moment, a number of the gum trees are in flower and are attracting a variety of birds. It’s hard to get a good picture of a Musk Lorikeet. They seem to be more shy than other birds and take care to hide within the foliage as much as possible.

Rainbow Lorikeet

Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus |  Approximate length: 30 cm | Date: 17 March 2020

We see many of these colourful, quarrelsome birds, and these last few days have been no exception. They were competing with the Musk Lorikeets for the same flowers:

Australian King Parrot

Scientific name: Alisterus scapularis |  Approximate length: 44 cm | Date: 15 March 2020

A couple of days ago, I blogged about the two King Parrots that spent some time above our patio. Here’s the male again:

Grey-headed Flying Fox

Scientific name: Pteropus poliocephalus |  Approximate length: 30 cm | Date: 18 March 2020

To finish off with, below is a very dark pic of a Flying Fox, which is a bat not a bird. In fact, it’s a megabat (yes, that’s a thing) and is one of the largest bats in the world. These bats eat fruit and flowers, and they visit the flowering trees at night. They make quite a noise, but it’s a privilege to have them around!

The bat is, as usual, upside down. You can see an ear near the bottom of the picture, slightly to left of centre. The nose is higher up on the left. The spiky bit to the right is a folded wing. The feet are attached to a branch at top centre. A Grey Headed Flying Fox is about 30 cm long and has a wing span of one metre.

Happy #BirdingAtHome everyone!

Birds on Magnetic Island

Last week I spent three days on Magnetic Island in North Queensland. Magnetic Island is a small island just offshore from Townsville. That’s approximately 2,000 km north of Sydney. The ferry ride from the mainland takes twenty minutes on the foot-passengers ferry, or forty minutes on the vehicle ferry. The island is a relaxing, lovely place to be.

Although I was on Magnetic Island for only a short while (two full days plus one evening and one morning) I encountered quite a few birds. Here are 16 of them, in rough order of size from small to large.

Yellow-bellied Sunbird

Scientific name: Nectarinia jugularis | Approximate length: 10-12 cm

This is a female Yellow-bellied Sunbird, spotted at Picnic Bay on Magnetic Island:

The beak of the Yellow-bellied Sunbird is long and curved, adapted for feeding from flowers:

 

White-breasted Woodswallow

Scientific name: Artamus leucorynchus | Approximate length: 16-18 cm

Three White-breasted Woodswallows clumping together. It was a chilly morning (well, chilly for the tropics, that is) so I guess they were sharing body heat:

 

Peaceful Dove

Scientific name: Geopelia placida (striata) | Approximate length: 20-24 cm

The Peaceful Dove is a small dove with an apricot tinge to its feathers. It has a soft, pleasant call as you can hear towards the end of this video:

Here’s a still shot of the same bird:

 

Rainbow Bee-eater

Scientific name: Merops ornatus | Approximate length: 23-27 cm

Given the name of this bird, I was particularly excited to snap one actually eating a bee!

Here’s a bird in the action of catching a bug:

This trio of bee-eaters clumped cosily in the chilly air of the early morning. Even a tropical island can feel cold to inhabitants used to the warmer summer weather:

 

Rainbow Lorikeet

Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus | Approximate length: 26-31 cm

These colourful parrots are extremely noisy, especially when you have a tree full of them:

 

Spangled Drongo

Scientific name: Dicrurus bracteatus | Approximate length: 28-32 cm

Drongo – what a cute name! Yet in Australia if someone calls you a “Drongo” you want to look closely at them, as it’s a bit of an insult. It means they think you’re not all that bright.

This is a female Spangled Drongo, I think, as its eyes are brown whereas the male has red eyes:

It’s easy to confuse these birds with crows and ravens. In fact, I heard Australian Ravens calling on the island, but didn’t get a photo of one.

The next photo is a pretty much a silhouette, but it shows off the Spangled Drongo’s forked tail:

 

Helmeted Friarbird

Scientific name: Philemon buceroides | Approximate length: 32-37 cm

This Helmeted Friarbird sat quietly on a branch listening to the birds all round. When it tilts its head you can see the odd-shaped knob on top of its beak:

Here’s another peering through the foliage:

 

Galah

Scientific name: Cacatua roseicapilla | Approximate length: 38 cm

Galahs are pretty pink and grey parrots. Australians sometimes call someone a “silly galah”, which I think is a slightly more affectionate term than “drongo”! I’ve seen Galahs in the Sydney area as well as up here on Magnetic Island. This one was picking up seeds on the ground. There’s another Galah nearby, which you can hear chirping to its mate towards the end of the video:

Here’s a still photo:

 

Masked Lapwing, also called a Spur-winged Plover

Scientific name: Vanellus miles | Approximate length: 35-39 cm

Masked Lapwings are strange-looking birds with yellow faces that seem to have been stuck on as an after-thought.

Their alternative name of “spur-winged” is apt, because they have hooks on their wings, one on each, which they use as weapons, stretching the wings then dragging back to wound their enemy.

In the next photo, the bird at the back is a juvenile. Its legs are brown instead of the red of the adult, and its mask has not yet fully developed:

 

Blue-winged Kookaburra

Scientific name: Dacelo leachii | Approximate length: 38-42 cm

The kookaburras up north are different from the Laughing Kookaburras that we see around Sydney. Blue-winged Kookaburras look leaner and meaner. They have bright blue markings on their wings, and they lack the wide dark strip that marks the eyes of Laughing Kookaburras. Here’s a Blue-winged Kookaburra on Magnetic Island:

They do look just as silly as our local birds when they gaze at us straight on:

The cackling laughter of the Blue-winged Kookaburras seemed harsher and higher pitched to me. I didn’t manage to record any of the noise. This video shows a bird sitting on the top of a high post, swaying backwards and forwards as they do to retain their balance:

 

Silver Gull

Scientific name: Larus novaehollandiae (also called Chroicocephalus novaehollandiae) | Approximate length: 38-42 cm

A Silver Gull warning off another Silver Gull:

 

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo

Scientific name: Cacatua galerita | Approximate length: 45-50 cm

Sulphur-crested Cockatoos abounded on the island. Here are a couple peeking out from the branches of a huge palm tree:

A closer look at one of the birds:

 

Bush Stone-curlew

Scientific name: Burhinus grallarius | Approximate length: 55-60 cm

If you’re lucky enough to be on Magnetic Island at night, you’ll hear an eerie wailing in the lonely hours. Report has it that the local police regularly receive calls from visitors to report screaming in the night. Don’t be alarmed. It’s just the Stone-curlews.

Bush Stone-curlews have amazing camouflage, even during the day. Spot the bird if you can (click on the image to zoom in):

Here’s a close-up picture of the same bird:

Bush Stone-curlews have lovely big eyes:

Bush Stone-curlews tend to move slowly and timidly, then make a quick dash. Here’s one moving slowly along a fence:

 

Brahminy Kite

Scientific name: Haliastur indus | Approximate length: 55-60 cm; wing span 1.2-1.3 m

I watched this Brahminy Kite for a while early one morning. The bird was perched on top of a very high post above a stone jetty. I had to use full zoom on my camera, and the resolution isn’t wonderful. Still, the photo gives a good idea of the bird’s appearance:

These kites are common around the northern shores of Australia. At first I confused the bird with an eagle, but then I noticed the striking white chest and head feathers, and the rich chestnut colour on the back and wings, which are characteristic of Brahminy Kites. Here’s a photo of the bird flying – again, fuzzy, but you get the idea of the shape and colour:

 

Whistling Kite

Scientific name: Haliastur sphenurus | Approximate length: 50-60 cm; wing span 1.2-1.5 m

This bird was high in the sky, circling above the ocean and the hills:

Here’s the same bird from another angle:

 

Australian White Ibis

Scientific name: Threskiornis molucca | Approximate length: 65-75 cm

These ibises are affectionately known as “bin chickens” because in cities they spend a lot of time raiding dustbins. This group was prowling around the beach area, no doubt in search of scraps from the nearby restaurants:

 

Koala

Not a bird! But I can’t leave a post about Magnetic Island without showing a picture of a Koala. The island has the largest population of wild koalas in Australia:

I hope you’ve enjoyed my post about the lovely Magnetic Island!

Rainbow Lorikeets and a flowering grass tree

A grass tree (Xanthorrhoea) perches precariously on the edge of a cliff in our garden. Every couple of years, the grass tree throws up a flower spike—much to the delight of the Rainbow Lorikeets in the area. Here’s a closeup of a couple of the birds on the flower spike:

Here’s the grass tree on the cliff, with the flower spike shooting up. The grass tree is the one with long, thin, spiky leaves at the base of the flowering spike, not the fleshy big-leafed succulents that surround it:

You can only fit so many lorikeets on a flower spike at once. So, the trick is to line up on the nearest power line and take turns. This video shows the interaction between the birds as they wait in line:

Evidently the nectar from the flowers on the spike is deliciously sweet. Australian Aboriginal people use it to make a sweet drink. Europeans used to burn it as incense in churches. The birds feel it’s worth waiting in line:

It turns out you can fit quite a few lorikeets on a flower spike:

Common name: Rainbow Lorikeet

Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus

Approximate length: 30 cm

Date spotted: 7 July 2017 (Winter)

Location: Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia

Why we plant native bushes and trees

One of the reasons we plant native bushes and trees in our garden is to provide food and shelter for the birds and animals. So that they’ll drop in and share this tiny patch of Australia with us. We see possums, lizards, bats, and birds of many kinds. Last week a wallaby passed through on its way from somewhere to somewhere else – but that’s most unusual, as ours really is a very small patch.

Rainbow lorikeets are frequent visitors, snacking on the nectar from the flowers. They’re noisy and quarrelsome, and very pretty.

The bush is a grevillia that we planted a couple of years ago, specifically to attract birds. It works!

Common name: Rainbow Lorikeet

Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus

Approximate length: 30 cm

Date spotted: 3 September 2016

Season: Spring

Bird swathed in Christmas colours

This little Rainbow Lorikeet shows off its bright cloak of red, green, blue and yellow, perched on the greeny-white flower of an Old Man Banksia. Christmas colours indeed

Common name: Rainbow Lorikeet

Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus

Approximate length: 30 cm

Date spotted: 24 December 2015

Season: Summer

Location: Allambie Heights, New South Wales, Australia

Approximate latitude/longitude: 33°46’19.2″S 151°15’39.6″E

Rainbow Lorikeets courting

These two Rainbow Lorikeets looked pretty interested in each other. They started with grooming and crooning, then they did a bit of a courtship dance. But it didn’t seem very serious, and they seemed to part as just good friends.

Common name: Rainbow Lorikeet

Scientific name: Trichoglossus haematodus

Approximate length: 30 cm

Date spotted: 19 October 2014

Season: Spring

Location: Manly Dam National Park, New South Wales, Australia

Latitude/longitude: 33°46’51.2″S 151°15’00.4″E