The noise that whipbirds make is strange: “eeeuuw-phwit”. It reminds people of a whip whistling and cracking, and that’s what gives the bird its name.

In this video, at least three Eastern Whipbirds are calling to each other. Twice in the video, you can hear two of them doing the long drawn-out whistle at the same time: the whistle vibrates and little. When you hear two (or three) chirps after the whistle and crack, like “eeeuuw-phwit-pheeuw-pheeuw”, the last two (or three) chirps are actually made by a second bird. The final chirps come so close after the first call that it sounds like one bird.

As you can see in the video, whipbirds are very good at hiding in the bushes. It’s hard to get a good picture. They’re quite pretty, in a subdued, forest-loving way.

Here’s one of the birds:

Its head and neck are black and white, with a nice little crest. The back and tail are a soft forest green. Here’s the same bird from a different angle:

Common name: Eastern Whipbird
Scientific name: Psophodes olivaceus
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 22 August 2024 (winter)
Location: Dobroyd Head in Sydney Harbour, NSW, Australia: 33°48’35.6″S 151°16’04.6″E