Stalking the Mystery Bird...

[khiemtran]

For the past few weeks, we've been trying to identify a mystery bird that we've been hearing calling in the mornings around our house. It's got a particularly musical call, that made us think at first it was a magpie or currawong imitating someone's ringtone, but then we started hearing it further and further afield as well. The next candidate was a grey butcherbird, but there was just one problem - we had never sighted a single one. Then, on Sunday, on our way to Sculpture by the Sea, we had a breakthrough...



As we headed down our street towards the train station, we heard the Mystery Bird call from the trees in front of us, and then caught a glimpse of a grey bird flying towards a tree on the other side of the road. When we got closer, there was no sign of the bird, but we could see a nest in the tree....



And, as we approached the nest, in swooped a grey butcherbird!



I tried to get a picture at the time, but it was too fast. But later that afternoon, we came back with the DSLR and staked out the nest for a closer look (which was when we got the pictures in this post).



It looks like there are actually no less than three butcherbirds in our area. The mother minds the nest...



The father hunts...



And a juvenile helps to feed the chicks.



Unfortunately, what we didn't hear was the Mystery Bird call, but now that we know where they are and how to spot them, it should be easier to work out if it's them or not making the sound. In any event, we're another step closer to solving the mystery.

In the meantime, Mrs Butcherbird is not so happy with all this attention...

Comments

[puddleshark.livejournal.com]

Butcherbirds! I'd read of them but never seen a picture - what a very big pointy beak they have!

I love it when I finally identify a mystery bird - usually by zooming in on a blurry distance shot.

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Yes, it's an impressive beak. They get their name because they hang their prey in trees for storage and butcher it with that long hooked beak. They certainly fit the bill for our mystery bird, but we just have to spot one making that particular call.

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

That is some beak! The head size, too, looks quite large in comparison to the rest of the body, especially in the third photo, the one after the nest.

I think it is so cool that the juvenile helps out! I had no idea bird families had that dynamic. I'll tell Sprout tomorrow when she wakes up. One of her favorite, if not her favorite, things to be right now is a golden eagle (only she always calls it by its French name aigle royale), and she insists she is a fledgling who helps with her nestling brother. :P

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

Apparently, the juveniles will stay in the breeding territory for about a year to help raise the next season's young. (http://www.birdsinbackyards.net/species/Cracticus-torquatus)

They do look almost like kookaburras or other kingfishers from some angles, with that big head and powerful beak.

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

She insists she is a fledgling who helps with her nestling brother

--That's adorable.

[mnfaure.livejournal.com]

Her imagination is still as vibrant as ever and shapeshifting remains the favorite game. :P

[asakiyume.livejournal.com]

The wings look so large in that last photo--like Mrs. Butcherbird is shaking sheets at you.

And like mnfaure says, that's some beak!

[khiemtran.livejournal.com]

They'll also kill mice and small birds, so that beak is meant for business. We didn't want to get too close to the nest in case they started swooping at us. It was interesting that it's taken us this long to sight them, even though they live quite close to our house. Hopefully, now that we know what they look like, we'll be able to spot them more easily.