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My first Leaden Flycatcher
I spotted an interesting bird at Manly North Head a few days ago. It had prominent whiskers (actually, they’re rictal bristles), a chestnut breast and white belly, and large eyes:
Was it a Spectacled Monarch? A Rufous Whistler? Maybe a female Flame Robin or Scarlet Robin? Eventually I asked the Australian Birds community on Reddit and received a likely identification: a female Leaden Flycatcher. This is a first sighting for me!
Leaden Flycatchers are common in north eastern Australia. They migrate southwards in the summer, but are uncommon in the south east where I am.
The whiskers around the beak are actually rictal bristles. They’re feathers that are modified to be sensors, helping the bird capture flying insects. After all, the bird has to earn its name, “flycatcher”!
Unfortunately, it was early morning and the bird was silhouetted against the sky, so I couldn’t get a good photo. These are the best I have.
Here’s another shot of the front of the bird:
Common name: Leaden Flycatcher
Scientific name: Myiagra rubecula
Approximate length: 15-16 cm
Date spotted: 9 October 2025 (spring)
Location: Manly North Head, Sydney Harbour National Park, New South Wales, Australia: 33°48’58.5″S 151°17’56.6″E
Brush-turkey mound: I think she likes it!
Here’s a male Australian Brush-turkey showing a lady around his mound. The male is the one in front, with the bright yellow pouch dangling around his neck:
This particular Brush-turkey has been perfecting his mound for weeks. It’s good to see he’s getting some interest. Both birds are looking smart in their spring plumage.
This second picture is for scale, to show the size of the mound relative to some tree trunks and a fire gate:
The male builds and maintains the mound and invites a female to it. If she’s impressed, the female consents to mate with him and then lays her eggs in the mound. The eggs incubate and hatch without help, and the chicks emerge ready to take on the world.
Common name: Australian Brush-turkey
Scientific name: Alectura lathami
Approximate length: 60-70 cm
Date spotted: 23 September 2025 (spring)
Location: Manly Dam, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’55.5″S 151°15’09.6″E
Alas, butcherbirds nest abandoned when tree fern sprouted
In my previous post, I wrote about a pair of Grey Butcherbirds that had built their nest in a tree fern below our house. The problem with tree ferns is that they sprout new fronds from the centre of the trunk, exactly where the birds had built their nest.
The photos of the nest in my earlier post were taken on the 18th of September. Just a few days later, the tree fern did indeed sprout a new frond, putting the nest at an uncomfortable angle. Still, the butcherbirds persevered. This photo, taken on the 25th of September shows one of the birds sitting determinedly on a very slanted nest, which presumably still contained the three eggs:
Just a day later, the birds had abandoned the nest. I don’t know if the eggs were still in the nest. The tree fern is way too high for me to go up and take a look:
By yesterday, the 5th of October, the new fern frond had pushed the nest to the top of the canopy:
Never mind little butcherbirds, there’s still plenty of time left this season to try again. Or next year perhaps.
Perhaps they’ll have learned something about real estate from this experience. Grey Butcherbirds live for around 20 years, so there’s plenty of time for learning!
Common name: Grey Butcherbird
Scientific name: Cracticus torquatus
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 18 September to 5 October 2025 (spring)
Location: Allambie Heights, NSW, Australia
Butcherbird nest in tree fern – hope it survives
A pair of Grey Butcherbirds have built their nest in a tree fern below our house. The problem with tree ferns is that they sprout new fronds from the centre of the trunk, exactly where the nest is now. And these are big fronds! I hope the butcherbirds manage to hatch the eggs and raise their young before the next sprouting happens.
Here’s the nest with a butcherbird sitting on the eggs:
There are at least two eggs, maybe three, in the nest. Here’s a shot taken when the nest was briefly unattended:
Here’s another shot of the bird on the nest, not as closely zoomed in:
This is the tree fern, as seen from my window without zooming in:
It’s interesting to see that inexperienced avian parents can make mistakes about where to place their nests. A while ago, a Red Wattlebird nest appeared in a similar tree fern in another area of our garden. Alas, that nest was very soon skewed and then skewered by a new frond, and had to be abandoned. However, a family of Noisy Miners was more successful.
Grey Butcherbirds incubate the eggs for about 25 days, and the fledgelings leave the nest after about four weeks. Evidently Grey Butcherbirds live around 20 years. That’s a long time, and gives them plenty of time to learn about the best place to build their homes.
Good luck, little butcherbirds!
Common name: Grey Butcherbird
Scientific name: Cracticus torquatus
Approximate length: 30 cm
Date spotted: 18 September 2025 (spring)
Location: Allambie Heights, NSW, Australia
Rose-crowned Fruit Dove near Sydney
My first sighting of a Rose-crowned Fruit Dove in the wild!
A few days ago, I saw a social media post saying that people were seeing a Rose-crowned Fruit Dove in Manly, just north of Sydney. I was surprised, because these birds are more common further north. I verified the sightings on eBird, then went to see if I could find the bird.
My first few trips were fruitless, though there was a lot of fruit around, in the form of Blueberry Ash berries! When I later spotted a Rose-crowned Fruit Dove, it was in the midst of these blue berries.
Rose-crowned Fruit Doves are amazingly colourful — not what first comes to my mind when I think of doves. They get their name from the pink patch just above their beaks. The back and wings are a striking emerald green, and the front is a soft grey on the chest, moving to bright yellow and orange on the belly, then merging into a more lime-coloured green under the tail:
A frontal view shows the chest and belly, as well as the good strong legs and feet:
The dove had some competition for the berries from other birds. In particular, a group of figbirds moved in and started a bit of a squabble. The next photo shows the Rose-crowned Fruit Dove at top right and a figbird at bottom left. The photo gives a good view of the dove’s emerald green back:
Here’s a short video of the dove moving around:
Common name: Rose-crowned Fruit Dove
Scientific name: Ptilinopus regina
Approximate length: 22-24 cm
Date spotted: 7 September 2025 (spring)
Location: Manly North Head, Sydney Harbour National Park, New South Wales, Australia: 33°48’35.7″S 151°17’32.8″E
Evidently Rose-crowned Fruit Doves migrate to follow the fruit. They’ve been spotted breeding in this area too, and other people have seen a couple of juveniles in the same area recently.
One of the nicest experiences about this sighting was the bird watchers that I met. On the day when I actually saw Rose-crowned Fruit Dove, there was a group of people all pointing their cameras in the same direction. I was immediately fairly sure the bird was there, and indeed it was. People were generous in pointing out the bird and making sure I had a good spot to get my photos:
Wild cockatoos come up close for a chat
This morning, I was out for a walk in the bush near Sydney, Australia, when I spotted two Sulphur-crested Cockatoos on a bush overhanging the path. As I came along the path, I spoke softly to the birds, as I often do. It’s partly because they’re so friendly-looking (anthropomorphism, I know!) and partly in the hope that I won’t scare them unduly. Many birds seem to respond well to being spoken to.
When I was close, the two cockatoos glided down to join their mates on the bank of a creek just below. I crouched down to take some photos. After a couple of minutes, the group of birds fluttered up and joined me on my rocky outcrop. They were on the ground next to me, just a foot or so away. It was a lovely, though slightly daunting, experience.
In the video, you can hear some Grey Fantails and a Golden Whistler, as well as the cockatoos.
Here’s one of the cockatoos on the bush overhanging the path, before the bird dropped down to join the gang on the bank of the creek. It’s enjoying an Acacia seed pod:
Common name: Sulphur-crested Cockatoo
Scientific name: Cacatua galerita
Approximate length: 50 cm
Date spotted: 29 August 2025 (winter)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’50.9″S 151°14’52.3″E
Two fairy-wrens amid the eggs and bacon flowers
Fairy-wrens are pretty little puffs of feathers, with long tails that stick up into the air rather endearingly. They move fast and are notoriously difficult to photograph. Most of my fairy-wren photos end up as blurs. This morning, I was luckier.
The fairy-wrens in our area are Variegated Fairy-wrens. Here’s a male, with his stunning coat of blue, black, rusty red, and creamy-white:
The flowers are, I think, Dillwynia elegans — also known as the Eggs And Bacon Flower or Parrot Pea. These flowers are tiny, but look a decent size next to the little wrens.
Here’s the female (or perhaps a juvenile), with her red eye mask and muted brown colouring. In the right light, her tail gleams a soft blue:
Common name: Variegated Fairy-wren
Scientific name: Malurus lamberti
Approximate length: 13 cm
Date spotted: 29 August 2025 (winter)
Location: Manly Dam park, near Sydney: 33°46’53.5″S 151°15’01.8″E
Learning how to be a Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
Strolling along a path at Manly Dam, I came across a group of Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoos. It’s always a treat being with these birds. They’re the quiet giants of the cockatoos in south eastern Australia. They sit on Banksia trees or, in this case, Casuarinas, chewing the seeds and chuntering to each other. Occasionally, one of the birds floats up into the air and glides to another branch.
In the group were two juveniles, making that almost-constant crooning noise that characterises them. I think it’s partially a request for food, and partially a reminder to the adult birds of where the little ones have got too.
This youngster hasn’t quite figured out what to do with a Casuarina seed pod. He finds one on the ground, touches it to his beak, then drops it. Nearby, an adult shows him how it’s done:
A little later, the youngster has climbed into a tree. Instead of tackling those hard seed pods, though, he practices wielding his beak on the bark:
Common name: Yellow-tailed Black Cockatoo
Scientific name: Calyptorhynchus funereus or Zanda funereus
Length: 58-65 cm
Date spotted: 24 July 2025 (winter)
Location: Manly Dam Reserve, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’42.5″S 151°14’59.1″E
Did a street sweeper do this beautiful job?
A meticulously-raked verge. The busy sounds of sweeping. Is there an ace street sweeper at work?
Common name: Australian Brush-turkey
Scientific name: Alectura lathami
Approximate length of adult bird: 60-70 cm
Date spotted: 12 July 2025 (winter)
Location: Manly Dam, New South Wales, Australia: 33°46’59.5″S 151°15’18.2″E
Pacific Baza chased by cockatoos
I was walking along Forty Baskets Track on Sydney Harbour when the Sulphur-crested Cockatoos started making an enormous ruckus. They took to the sky in a large flock and circled overhead screaming blue murder.
When I managed to find a gap in the tree canopy, I saw that the cockatoos were chasing a large bird of prey:
I followed the pack of birds for about 15 minutes, back and forth along the track. The bird of prey landed in the tree tops a few times, and I was able to identify it as a Pacific Baza. I managed to see the crest on its head, but didn’t get a good enough photo of the crest to post here. This is the best photo I got of the bird at rest:
Pacific Bazas are uncommon, mostly found in north and north-east Australia, and are rare in New South Wales (where I am). They eat small reptiles, and praying mantises and stick insects (both of which can be quite large in Australia).
Common name: Pacific Baza
Scientific name: Aviceda subcristata
Length: 35-45 cm
Wing span: 1 metre
Date spotted: 29 June 2025 (winter)
Location: Forty Baskets Track, Balgowlah, NSW, Australia: 33°48’18.2″S 151°16’18.2″E
Sydney Birder 