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gemfyreI'm churning these out quickly at the moment. It will slow down a bit, but I really I hope I don't end up abandoning it.
This lesson will cover 3 very common birds that you're probably quite familiar with, and another that is not quite so abundant and well known.
Magpie - Gymnorhina tibicen
Technically the Australian Magpie (our Magpie was named after the non-related black-and-white European bird. There are also non-related Magpies in Asia).
Photo by me! Taken at Perry Lakes.
Magpies are a quintessential Australian bird. They are found all over the country (although they are strangely scarce around Broome), they bold and not at all bothered by people (they often benefit from our scraps and grassy areas), and their carolling song is a defining Aussie sound. Magpies are also a little maligned for their habit of swooping during the nesting season. But nesting only lasts a few weeks, so avoid breeding magpies or wear protective gear during this time and you'll be okay.
A few defining features of the Australian Magpie
- Pointed white beak with a black tip. (These can really hurt when on the end of a swooping bird. I once had one draw blood on my head, ouch).
- Black and white plumage. There are a dozen subspecies of Magpie throughout Australia. In the Perth area males have a black chest and white back, females have a black chest and mottled back, and juvenilles have a grey chest and mottled back (and are incessentally whining for food).
- Fully black head.
- Distinctive carolling call and low warble. Magpies are clever birds and will mimic other sounds and bird calls. I have a listened to a magpie quietly warbling to itself and heard among the regular sounds the sound of a dog barking and a black-cockatoo calling.
They are generally unafraid of humans and will hang around for food scraps and become quite friendly. If you leave your door open they may walk right in! The fellow in the photo above was intently watching me eat my lunch. One thing I adore about magpies is that you can communicate with them, if you whistle to them they warble back.
Despite the Magpie being one of the instantally recognisable Australian birds, there is another bird that is often mistaken for a Magpie when it most certainly is not.
Magpie Lark - Grallina cyanoleuca
Just to confuse things, these are also called Mudlarks, Murray Magpies and Peewees depending on where you are in the country.
Photo by Aussietrev of www.birdforum.net
Magpie Larks are also very common around human habitation. Most people just see a black and white bird and assume it's a Magpie (or even worse, a "baby" Magpie). But there are a few features of the Magpie Lark that are distinctly different from a Magpie.
- Smaller and more delicate bird.
- The beak is a lot less sturdy.
- The head is black and white - males have a black throat and a horizontal black line throught the eye. Females have a white throat and a vertical black strip through the eye. Just remember that the males have beards and the females powder their decolletages. Young birds have a sort of mish-mash of these features.
- Their call is the familar, piercing "pee-o-wit, pee-o-wit" along with a few other sounds. Magpie Larks duet. Watch the pairs closely when they're calling, you'll notice one bird is making the first part of the call and the other is finishing it. They also raise their wings when calling.
I often call Magpie Larks "wannabe waders" because of their habit of dabbing about puddles and lake edges. There is a good reason for this behaviour - Magpie Larks are mud nesters. They build large, solid cups of mud on branches to nest in. Quite impressive structures they are. I find Magpie Larks aren't the brightest of birds (compared to Magpies), but I'm just talking from personal bias.
In the Perth area there is an often overlooked, but often heard close relative of the Magpie that is nowhere near as well known.
Grey Butcherbird - Cracticus torquatus
Photo by Contini of www.birdforum.net
Despite being rather Kookaburra shaped, I assure you that this guy is a close relative of the Magpie and not at all related to the Kookaburra. You'll understand why when it calls. The Grey Butcherbird also carols, but the call is a lot faster and more frantic than that of a Magpie, it will take a bit of practice to be certain of the difference between the two. (The Pied Butcherbird - which isn't found in the Perth metro area on the other hand has a gorgeous fluting song that sounds like it was written by a composer). Butcherbirds are so named because they are known to wedge their prey in a fork in a tree or on a spine and tear it apart.
Some other features of the Grey Butcherbird -
- Smaller than a Magpie.
- Grey back.
- White belly.
Butcherbirds are found in areas where there is more bushland. They sit in trees and pounce on their prey, unlike Magpies, which often patrol grassy areas and grab worms and insects. There is one that hangs around near my work in Floreat and I often hear him calling, but I hardly ever see him.
While we're discussing "black and whites" I want to mention a black bird that is very common in the metro area.
Australian Raven - Corvus coronoides
Photo by Julien of
No, it's not a crow. The big, black bird you see around Perth all the time is spefically the Australian Raven. These are very intelligent birds that have benifited greatly from humankind's tendency to throw out perfectly good food. While there is a tiny possibility of seeing a Little Crow in the Perth area, it's pretty safe to assume that any large Corvid (Corvids are the crows and ravens... and rooks, but you don't get either of them in Australia) you see in Perth is an Australian Raven. But here are a few features that distinguish it:
- Hackles at the throat - these are the long feathers that grow beard-like on the raven's throat. When it calls these are very easy to see.
- They are the largest Corvid in Australia.
- That "arrrr-arrr" call that almost every Perthie will be familar with. While this is their main call and the one most people hear, if you take the time to sit near a raven raiding a rubbish bin, or sitting near you hoping for scraps you will hear some amazing vocalisations and you could swear they were trying to talk to you - do it sometime, you'll be unnerved.
This lesson will cover 3 very common birds that you're probably quite familiar with, and another that is not quite so abundant and well known.
Magpie - Gymnorhina tibicen
Technically the Australian Magpie (our Magpie was named after the non-related black-and-white European bird. There are also non-related Magpies in Asia).
Photo by me! Taken at Perry Lakes.
Magpies are a quintessential Australian bird. They are found all over the country (although they are strangely scarce around Broome), they bold and not at all bothered by people (they often benefit from our scraps and grassy areas), and their carolling song is a defining Aussie sound. Magpies are also a little maligned for their habit of swooping during the nesting season. But nesting only lasts a few weeks, so avoid breeding magpies or wear protective gear during this time and you'll be okay.
A few defining features of the Australian Magpie
- Pointed white beak with a black tip. (These can really hurt when on the end of a swooping bird. I once had one draw blood on my head, ouch).
- Black and white plumage. There are a dozen subspecies of Magpie throughout Australia. In the Perth area males have a black chest and white back, females have a black chest and mottled back, and juvenilles have a grey chest and mottled back (and are incessentally whining for food).
- Fully black head.
- Distinctive carolling call and low warble. Magpies are clever birds and will mimic other sounds and bird calls. I have a listened to a magpie quietly warbling to itself and heard among the regular sounds the sound of a dog barking and a black-cockatoo calling.
They are generally unafraid of humans and will hang around for food scraps and become quite friendly. If you leave your door open they may walk right in! The fellow in the photo above was intently watching me eat my lunch. One thing I adore about magpies is that you can communicate with them, if you whistle to them they warble back.
Despite the Magpie being one of the instantally recognisable Australian birds, there is another bird that is often mistaken for a Magpie when it most certainly is not.
Magpie Lark - Grallina cyanoleuca
Just to confuse things, these are also called Mudlarks, Murray Magpies and Peewees depending on where you are in the country.
Photo by Aussietrev of www.birdforum.net
Magpie Larks are also very common around human habitation. Most people just see a black and white bird and assume it's a Magpie (or even worse, a "baby" Magpie). But there are a few features of the Magpie Lark that are distinctly different from a Magpie.
- Smaller and more delicate bird.
- The beak is a lot less sturdy.
- The head is black and white - males have a black throat and a horizontal black line throught the eye. Females have a white throat and a vertical black strip through the eye. Just remember that the males have beards and the females powder their decolletages. Young birds have a sort of mish-mash of these features.
- Their call is the familar, piercing "pee-o-wit, pee-o-wit" along with a few other sounds. Magpie Larks duet. Watch the pairs closely when they're calling, you'll notice one bird is making the first part of the call and the other is finishing it. They also raise their wings when calling.
I often call Magpie Larks "wannabe waders" because of their habit of dabbing about puddles and lake edges. There is a good reason for this behaviour - Magpie Larks are mud nesters. They build large, solid cups of mud on branches to nest in. Quite impressive structures they are. I find Magpie Larks aren't the brightest of birds (compared to Magpies), but I'm just talking from personal bias.
In the Perth area there is an often overlooked, but often heard close relative of the Magpie that is nowhere near as well known.
Grey Butcherbird - Cracticus torquatus
Photo by Contini of www.birdforum.net
Despite being rather Kookaburra shaped, I assure you that this guy is a close relative of the Magpie and not at all related to the Kookaburra. You'll understand why when it calls. The Grey Butcherbird also carols, but the call is a lot faster and more frantic than that of a Magpie, it will take a bit of practice to be certain of the difference between the two. (The Pied Butcherbird - which isn't found in the Perth metro area on the other hand has a gorgeous fluting song that sounds like it was written by a composer). Butcherbirds are so named because they are known to wedge their prey in a fork in a tree or on a spine and tear it apart.
Some other features of the Grey Butcherbird -
- Smaller than a Magpie.
- Grey back.
- White belly.
Butcherbirds are found in areas where there is more bushland. They sit in trees and pounce on their prey, unlike Magpies, which often patrol grassy areas and grab worms and insects. There is one that hangs around near my work in Floreat and I often hear him calling, but I hardly ever see him.
While we're discussing "black and whites" I want to mention a black bird that is very common in the metro area.
Australian Raven - Corvus coronoides
Photo by Julien of
No, it's not a crow. The big, black bird you see around Perth all the time is spefically the Australian Raven. These are very intelligent birds that have benifited greatly from humankind's tendency to throw out perfectly good food. While there is a tiny possibility of seeing a Little Crow in the Perth area, it's pretty safe to assume that any large Corvid (Corvids are the crows and ravens... and rooks, but you don't get either of them in Australia) you see in Perth is an Australian Raven. But here are a few features that distinguish it:
- Hackles at the throat - these are the long feathers that grow beard-like on the raven's throat. When it calls these are very easy to see.
- They are the largest Corvid in Australia.
- That "arrrr-arrr" call that almost every Perthie will be familar with. While this is their main call and the one most people hear, if you take the time to sit near a raven raiding a rubbish bin, or sitting near you hoping for scraps you will hear some amazing vocalisations and you could swear they were trying to talk to you - do it sometime, you'll be unnerved.
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no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 06:57 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 07:00 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 08:44 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 11:45 am (UTC)Wait, what? *googles magpie* o.O
That would explain why you hear all these stories of "magpies" going after shiny stuff yet aussie ones don't seem to (and nor do foreigners seem to view them with the same mortal fear)
I'm not COMPLETELY ignorant about birds:
The way I learned to recognise male mudlarks (off Burke's Backyard, I think) is they have "eyebrows" :)
no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 01:07 pm (UTC)I'm about to start on ducks. I bet you didn't know that there are 10 species of native duck that can be found in the Perth metro area. (and the Coot isn't one of them)
Waves the flame-bait
Date: 2009-05-17 01:22 pm (UTC)Hey look at this photo of a crow!
(To everyone else: There is a long-standing problem at Broome, in that there are two, sometimes three, species of corvid that can be seen. These can be almost impossible to tell apart at a distance, and there have been some legendary arguments about just which was what. Sometimes about a bird that was caught in a mist net.)
Re: Waves the flame-bait
Date: 2009-05-17 01:27 pm (UTC)The was generally, "Assume it's a Torresian Crow unless you can give us some damn good identifying features of the Little Crow".
Re: Waves the flame-bait
Date: 2009-05-17 01:31 pm (UTC)The sheer level of vehemence that the topic can raise is a source of great amusement to me.
no subject
Date: 2009-05-17 03:15 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-18 06:43 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-05-19 01:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-02 10:55 am (UTC)Anyway my question is this, at Joeys parents house they have a Magpie that gets fed every day by them, they say they feed it as it has a knackered leg that's swollen and all the other magpies attack it whenever they see it... anyhoo we were trying to figure out the sex of the bird and we think its a girly bird but most of the web pages that covered this stuff were fairly vague at best... so is there an easy way to tell the sex of a magpie?.
no subject
Date: 2009-07-02 11:02 am (UTC)If the bird is greyish/mottled on the front it's a juvenille (I don't know how to sex juvies). Adult birds are black on the front.
If it is all white on the back it's a male.
If it has greyish mottling on the back it's a female.
The other magpies are probably attacking the injured magpie because he's injured or sick and they don't want his genes sullying their pool. It could also be 'pox', which creates these growths on the legs and feet, I don't know what the infection is exactly, but I know it's contagious. It also makes the heads all warty.
Give these guys a call - http://www.nativeanimalrescue.org.au/ - if you want to know more. I volunteered there years ago and it's where I fell in love with magpies, they have plenty.
P.S. I hope Joey's folks are feeding the maggie meat and not bread. Magpies are carnivores pretty much. They're quite partial to roo mince I find (much to the cat's disgust, because I feed the magpies their roo mince).
no subject
Date: 2009-07-02 11:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-07-02 11:34 am (UTC)I read in a Wingspan a story about a grey butcherbird that was partial to white castello cheese.