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“Reading recent research shows that Australian birds are more likely than most to eat sweet foods, live in complex societies, live long lives, attack other birds, and be smart and noisy.” (Tim Low, “Where the Song Begins”).
While this may seem appealing at first, it also encompasses highly immoral behavior. For examplein one study, it was found that more than 80 percent of new Australian Magpies born in a territory in a year are cared for by males from outside its boundaries.
Another study where researchers tried to track Australian Magpies had to be changed because the magpies involved helped each other remove their tracking devices within an hour. I think if you want to have relationships without too much trouble from your social partner, it helps to be smart.
When going to Australia, one of the two birds I most wanted to see was the Tawny Frogmouth.
Gisela Kaplan wrote a book about the species, and how they seem impervious to humans: “It’s one of their most successful defense strategies. They just sit back and pretend they’re not there to avoid interaction.” Sometimes I try it at parties, and in fact it usually works well.
It seems that few zoos keep Tawny Frogmouths. When these birds multiply, it can lead to scary announcements, for example from Adelaide Zoo: “We have news that mentions an egg!”
Clare has also written posts on Tawny Frogmouths in Broome for 10,000 Birds.
Birdlife Australia is not trying to hide the puzzlement in the naming of Pacific Black Duck: “Despite being mostly brown, the Pacific Black Duck has always been known as the ‘black duck’. Its only black feather is a bold stripe that crosses the bird’s face”.
Scientific research has found that these ducks flock together more closely if you feed them bread. In the language of real scientists, it sounds like following:
“Although the average distance between naturally foraging individuals is 2.51 m, bread-eating individuals are only 0.25 m apart. This study suggests that the common hobby of supplementary feeding of ducks has resulted in new behaviors and foraging patterns within urban populations of Pacific Black Ducks, and these findings have implications for urban wildlife management and the
co-existence of humans and animals in urban environments.”
The Australasian Swamphen used to think of itself as a subspecies of the Purple Swamphen but then began a self-improvement program and ended up as a full species. It’s also thankful not to have quite as dumb a name as the Grey-headed Swamphen.
The Willie Wagtail is not really a wagtail but a fantail. So, one part of its name is clearly wrong while the other part is just silly.
Apparently, Willie Wagtails is associated with many Aboriginal legends – some of which have been described here. I have heard some Willie Wagtails were almost afraid to do anything whenever the Aborigines were around, for fear of promoting some kind of superstition or other.
I kind of wonder why we seem to be more tolerant of superstition towards unfortunate minorities. I think, in a way, it’s very patronizing to have that attitude.
There is an interesting study covered in a article with the title “Willie Wagtails: The Werewolves of the Bird World” which at first glance may seem to also address some superstitions but actually examines the potential reasons for males of this species sometimes singing at night.
Of course, if science isn’t your thing, you can also look up Willie Wagtail’s Spiritual Meaning (“Unlock the wondrous secrets of this spiritual symbol”) here. Please do not return to this website afterwards.
While people in Australia are primarily responding to climate change by turning on their air conditioners, Australian Ringnecks appear to be increasing their wing span (origin):
“The wingspan of Ringneck parrots in southwestern Western Australia has been increasing since the 1970s, at the same time as that region has become warmer and drier… It is possible that the birds’ wings are an evolutionary response to warmer conditions, and help parrots to cool down.”
Of course, as a certified cat person, I was delighted to see a Green Catbird near Brisbane. When I show the public bird pictures, I sometimes play bird call and ask what they think of it. The answer is not always correct, but I think the name “Green Strangling-an-Infant-Child-Bird” might not be that good for the image of the species (and it would be a bit long too).
I’m not much of a devil worshiper myself, mostly because I’m a Sagittarius, and it’s well known that people of this star sign don’t believe in the devil. Unfortunately, this also means that I rarely get to meet this rather cute little one Yellow-throated Scrubwren which according to M. Morcombe (Birds of Australia) is also known as the ‘Devil-bird’ because it is always found in the darkest parts of the rainforest.
Of course, when talking about the devil, it’s hard for me not to mention the song “The best ever death metal band from Denton” by The Mountain Goats.
In terms of design, the Pied Currawong also seems to be inspired by satan, and I mean this in the best possible way.
In general, this is not a bird that gets a lot of good press.
Ornithologist Colin Harrison described the pied currawong as having “the somewhat stealthy but alert air of a bird about to commit a crime.” (origin)
And in a fairly comprehensive way search by Dr Julie O’Connor, she can only find one source that mentions Pied Currawong in a positive light – and that is as Roasted Currawong (which seems delicious with mushrooms).
I like them a lot, though. If I ever have a used car that I need to sell, I will definitely turn to them for help.
Dr. also provides O’Connor has a pretty specific rationale as to why Pied Currawongs Australians don’t like it that much: “For example, a pleasant Excellent Fairy-wren seems lovelier than the pied currawong snatching the wren from its nest, tearing it apart and then feeding it to its own young.”
On the other hand, Excellent Fairy-wrens (like the magpies mentioned earlier) are also very promiscuous. If I were so inclined, I might think that the Pied Currawongs deserved to kill them for their sinful behavior.
“These birds are known for their polyamorous approach to sex, despite being socially monogamous. Breeding pairs form exclusive social bonds, but each partner will still mate with the others. individual.” (origin)
One more website it is said that “the male Superb Fairy-wrens …[have] called the world’s least faithful birds because of their rampant promiscuity. Female birds were observed to be courted by 13 males within half an hour.”
Females, juveniles, and less ambitious males prefer to remain brown, as the intense blue color attracts predators.
However, women prefer exactly blue men for the longest time. Kind of irresponsible to support this kind of behavior, I think (origin). This is what killed James Dean.
The Latin species name of Leaden Flycatcher is rubella (“red-breasted”), one of the few examples of a species named after a trait exhibited only by the female (males do not have any red in them).
As a kind of compensation, the English name “Leaden” refers to the color of the male – even in good light, the male is a beautiful blue rather than dull gray (as the word “leaden” suggests).
Investment by male and female parents was found to be almost identical at all nestling stages (origin), though the image below might suggest otherwise.
The Monarch with a black face is a relative in the same bird family, the Monarchidae.
Sulphur-crested Cockatoos learned to open garbage cans in the Sydney area, looking for food. They may want to find a better press representation though, as the relevant NYT article is titled “Trash Parrots Invent New Skills in Australian Suburbs“, which is kind of a mixed message.
Of course, posing on youtube with dance moves doesn’t help the reputation of the species either.
Nor their occasional destructive behavior – they destroy buildings and once caused AUS$50,000 worth of damage to the roof of the National Herbarium of New South Wales (origin).
John Martin, a researcher with the Big City Bird project, says “They may be behaving badly,” and gives boredom or playfulness as additional reasons before pointing out that only a few individuals are guilty of this behavior.
They are relatively long-lived, with a verified age of 57 and even longer lifespans reported anecdotally (origin).
The Masked Lapwing has its own small brochure edited by the Australian Transport Safety Bureau because it appears to be a danger to airports – the species loves short grass and will aggressively defend its territory, possibly even against large aircraft. Between 1991 and 2001, 143 bird strikes involved Masked Lapwings was reported to the ATSB.
I’m not sure if its aggressive behavior or their face (which to me resembles the headgear of ancient hoplite soldiers) is responsible for their Latin species name miles (soldier).
Lewin’s Honeyeater is named after John Lewin, a British illustrator who after traveling to Australia in 1800 authored the first illustrated book to be engraved and printed in Australia. His Wikipedia has some tragedies:
“Somehow he missed this trip [to Australia] but his wife traveled here”
“The resulting books were intended to fund his passage home [to the UK]but the fashion for Australian natural wonders was fading by the time he published [them]”
“Only six copies of his next book … have survived, indicating that the remaining copies were somehow lost”.
The bird looks good.
It’s certainly not true that writing a post about Australia and not mentioning flying foxes is illegal, but why risk it?
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