I took these photos last week. It was early morning and I was waiting for my friend to come over so we can try photographing an azure again. I couldn't believe my eyes when I saw this guy. I thought, this is unbelievable, I am about to drive out looking for kingfishers and I get a sacred in my own back yard. I didn't have my birding lens so I got any lens I could find. I then realised that this was perhaps not a sacred kingfisher. He was larger, didnt bob up and down like a sacred and the beak had a little hook. Anyway later I used birdfinder to identify it. I have never seen them in my back yard before. Now I am wondering if I just never paid attention to them before or if they really are a newcomers since my cat passed away lats year.
So anyway, I went to get my camera and when I got back he had a lizzard in his beak. I was back so quickly I thought it was strange how quickly he had spotted a lizzard and cought one.
He then flew to another tree and proceeded to stick it in a fork of a tree I guess to be able to tear pieces from it more easily.
Looking at some of the photos the lizzard seems to be a bit dry to have been freshly killed. The profile on BIBY suggests they can store their kill so I am wondering if he had killed it before and only came back that morning to have an easy breakfast.
He dropped the lizzard and flew straight down to get it. Didn't seem to mind me too much. I was like 3m away from it. He paused to give me a look and a photo opportunity and flew away.
awesome shots Ales. I like grey butcherbirds and get them in my yard sometimes. The pics you took show typical butcherbird behaviour, sitting up on a perch with prey in their beak.
they also love to impale their dead prey on sharp twigs to store them and to help them rip bits off when the time comes to eat it later.
Cheers, Owen.
Lovely shots Alex... and yes typical Butcherbird behaviour. they usually find a little fork in the branches to lodge it in or a twig to impale it on, and then they tear it up . I live right in the middle of BB territory and the Pied Butcherbirds are my morning alarm clock.....beautiful calls. I see regular greys on my walks in the morning and they are never shy of humans.
Great to see you enjoying your backyard birds!!!!!
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Really interesting shots. We have grey and pied here. They do have a great song
I have no idea what they sound like. This guy was completely silent while he was in my yard. I might do an internet search and see if I can find what they sound like.
I was born to live and I live to die.
Alex, the Grey and the Pied have very different calls although the tonal sounds can be similar on various notes. Whatever you find on the net..rest assured that they have a wide variety of calls. The most common Grey call is the is a kind of chortling sound which varies from a screechy sound to that similar to a magpie at times . I have heaps of recording of Pied Butcherbird calls but I don't have my own computer at the moment.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Nice to finally see the bird you were talking about, nice catch.
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I love photography.
Thanks wolfy and welcome to BIBY. All this is my friend Nik whose car got smashed and my buddy photographer. Don't forget to post some of those awesome shots you have of birds from your backyard.
I was born to live and I live to die.
Thanks, will do.
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I love photography.