An Eastern Whipbird does his morning grooming, stopping occasionally to call to his friends. 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 the background, you can hear other whipbirds replying. Each time, a bird off-camera echoes the long drawn-out call of the on-camera bird( “eeeuuw-phwit”) then another bird also off-camera replies immediately (“phit-phit-pheeuw”). These two off-camera calls sound like a single call, but they’re actually from two birds.

Common name: Eastern Whipbird
Scientific name: Psophodes olivaceus
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 9 March 2025 (summer)
Location: Manly North Head, Sydney Harbour, NSW, Australia: 33°48’55.1″S 151°17’58.9″E