Two pretty little Silvereyes
Two Silvereyes perched on a twig, lending a touch of colour to the winter chill. Here’s one of them, showing the buff colouring on its front, under the wings. And, of course, that characteristic white-ringed eye:
Another view shows the olive green on the birds’ backs and wings:
Common name: Silvereye
Scientific name: Zosterops cornwalli
Length: 11-13 cm
Date spotted: 13 July 2024 (winter)
Location: Dobroyd Head, New South Wales, Australia: 33°48’36.1″S 151°16’24.1″E
Brown Honeyeater at Maleny
A little Brown Honeyeater was feeding on flowers at the botanical gardens in Maleny, Queensland. Brown Honeyeaters are rather drab little birds, and I didn’t get a good photo of this one. But it’s worth posting as a first sighting:
These little birds are very similar to Fuscous Honeyeaters. I identified this one with the help of the Australian Birds sub-Reddit. This bird doesn’t have the yellow patch on the neck that Fuscous Honeyeaters have. And this bird’s beak is more curved than the Fuscous beak. The next photo shows the curved beak, albeit on the other side of a twig!
There’s also a hint of yellow at the edge of the eye, as well as that lovely dark eye mask:
Common name: Brown Honeyeater
Scientific name: Lichmera indistincta
Length: 12-16 cm
Date spotted: 6 July 2024 (winter)
Location: Maleny Botanic Gardens, Queensland: 26°46’54.7″S 152°50’04.0″E
Noisy Friarbird feeding on Grevillea
I recently visited The Gap in Brisbane, Queensland. Every morning, as the sun came up, Noisy Friarbirds visited the flowering Grevilleas outside our window.
For the most part, the Noisy Friarbirds did live up to their name: they were noisy. Funnily enough, though, there’s not much Noisy Friarbird noise in the above video. I did take another video in the same location, of a Pale-headed Rosella this time. And, again funnily enough, in that video you don’t hear the Rosella but you do hear the Noisy Friarbirds (and other birds) in the background.
Noisy Friarbirds aren’t the prettiest of birds. Their body and wings are attractive in a quiet way, but the head looks as if it belongs on a dinosaur! The video and this photo give a nice view of the bump at the top of the bird’s beak, the bare skin and exposed ear, and that red eye:
Common name: Noisy Friarbird
Scientific name: Philemon corniculatus
Approximate length: 30-35 cm
Date spotted: 6 July 2024 (winter)
Location: The Gap, Brisbane, Queensland (approximate map reference)
Pale-headed Rosella, my first
I recently paid a visit to Brisbane and stayed in an Airbnb with a gorgeous garden. Every morning, as the sun came up, birds visited the flowering Grevilleas outside our window. One morning, this beautiful bird was among them:
It’s my first sighting of a Pale-headed Rosella. They’re not found in the Sydney area, but are common further north in NSW and Queensland. I love the soft colours and gentle manner of this bird.
Common name: Pale-headed Rosella
Scientific name: Platycercus adscitus
Approximate length: 28-32 cm
Date spotted: 6 July 2024 (winter)
Location: The Gap, Brisbane, Queensland (approximate map reference)
A covey of Brown Quails on Old Grafton Road
I was recently on Old Grafton Road, in the vicinity of Glen Innes, NSW. On the road was a group of six to seven little birds that I’d never seen before. They were clustered together, but were quite timid and fled into the undergrowth when I got out of the car to take a look.
I thought they must be some type of small pheasant. They turned out to be Brown Quails. Evidently a group of quails is called a covey.
Here’s the best picture that I have of any of them.
This picture of two of them shows the brownish eye:
Here are five of them clustered together:
It’s exciting to see a species for the first time! In the past, I’ve spotted little birds dashing into the undergrowth in various places, which might have been quails, but I’ve never before caught a good look.
Common name: Brown Quail
Scientific name: Coturnix ypsilophora
Approximate length: 17-20 cm
Date spotted: 5 July 2024 (winter)
Location: Old Grafton Road, NSW. Approximate map reference: 29°40’29.5″S 152°04’42.0″E
Pied Butcherbirds, adult and juvenile
This is just my second sighting of a Pied Butcherbird, and this time I was lucky to see both an adult and a young bird. This was at the Mann River Nature Reserve near Glen Innes, NSW, just off the Old Grafton Road.
Note: Thank you to Sue, who corrected my original thought that the juvenile was a female. As Sue points out in her comment below, the male and female adult birds are very similar in appearance.
Here’s the adult bird:
In the next photo, the view from behind shows the wide white collar that goes all the way round the bird’s neck. I think it’s the same bird as in the previous photo, but I don’t know for sure:
Here’s the young bird, in the same tree:
Common name: Pied Butcherbird
Scientific name: Cracticus nigrogularis
Approximate length: 33-36 cm
Date spotted: 5 July 2024 (winter)
Location: Mann River Nature Reserve in NSW, just off the Old Grafton Road: 29°41’18.3″S 152°05’56.6″E
Mann River makes a pretty picture, meandering around grey-white rocks and surrounded by natural forest:
My first Tattler
A few weeks ago, I took some photos of a bird that I thought was a juvenile Oystercatcher. When I posted the pictures and location on eBird, a reviewer let me know that this is a Tattler, probably a Grey-tailed Tattler.
I was delighted to be corrected, and particularly so because this is the first time I’ve spotted a Tattler. These birds are uncommon in the south of Australia, particularly in winter.
The bird was wading in the shallows of the rocky plate that leads out into the ocean from Long Reef Headland. Every now and then, it probed the rocks below the water for food.
The lighting was harsh and the bird was far away, which made it difficult to get a good photo.
Common name: Tattler, probably a Grey-tailed Tattler
Scientific name: sp. Heteroscelus, probably Heteroscelus brevipes
Approximate length: 24-28 cm
Date spotted: 19 June 2024 (winter)
Location: Long Reef Aquatic Reserve, Collaroy, New South Wales, Australia: 33°44’19.7″S 151°18’42.0″E
Butcherbirds sang to me!
Early one morning, at the place I was staying at near Brisbane, two Grey Butcherbirds dropped down and sang to me.
It felt very special to have these birds come so close and sing their song. I suspect they were hoping I’d produce a snack. This is the first time I’ve had this experience, though a few magpies have sung to me in the past.
Here’s a still picture of one of the birds:
Butcherbirds are medium-sized songbirds, widely spread in Australia. They’re only distantly related to the South African shrikes that are also known as butcherbirds. Both groups of birds get their name from their habit of securing their captured prey on spikes or in crevices, to store the prey for youngsters or to make it easier to eat.
Common name: Grey Butcherbird
Scientific name: Cracticus torquatus
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 6 July 2024 (winter)
Location: The Gap, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia: 27°26’55.3″S 152°55’50.2″E
The foot of the Coot
Coots are underrated. Their feet even more so.
Drama in monochrome and a touch of red:
How to own a reflection:
Common name: Eurasian Coot
Scientific name: Fulica atra
Approximate length: 35 cm
Date spotted: April and June 2024
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia
Pardalotes nest-building in winter
It’s mid-winter here in Sydney: cold, wet, and grey. Yet I’ve noticed some of the birds are already preparing for breeding season. On Friday, I saw a group of Australian Ibises in breeding plumage. And a few days ago, I watched a Spotted Pardalote gathering material for its nest:
Pardalotes are tiny little birds (10 cm from head to tail). They nest in burrows in the ground, usually at around ankle level. This one was unusual, in that its nest was in the side of a low cliff, overlooking the water of Sydney Harbour. Here’s the view that the bird would see:
Some distance away on the same walk, another Spotted Pardalote stopped on a branch for a few seconds:
Even when stopped on a branch, these birds don’t stand still for any time at all! I was lucky to get some usable shots from the many that I took. Another view of the same bird:
Common name: Spotted Pardalote or Diamondbird
Scientific name: Pardalotus punctatus
Approximate length: 10 cm
Date spotted: 26 June 2024 (winter)
Location: Forty Baskets (33°48’05.7″S 151°16’09.3″E) and Dobroyd Head (33°48’35.0″S 151°16’18.8″E) in Sydney Harbour
Sydney Birder 