I'd never heard of a Spangled Drongo let alone seen one in my backyard until I heard what sounded like my Manx cat meowing loudly and repeatedly. At the time my cat was standing silently beside me and there wasn't another cat anywhere in sight. Suddenly I realised that the bird perched on a bare branch in my back yard was making the sound. Over the next few weeks I took movies and photos of it mimicking my cat as well as the other birds around. One time there was a bit of a cat fight in the neighbourhood and the Spangled Drongo joined in the catcalls. I put the footage and photos together in a movie: "What Cat is That? A Spangled Drongo!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gyTZbZUHl7s
Does anyone else have reports of birds mimicking cats or other unexpected creatures/things?
Fantastic production catvv !!!! I love it and thank you for going to such a great effort and sharing it with us here. I have Spangle Drongos every Summer and they make a hell of a racket, but I have never heard them mimic my cat! Your cat didn't seem that intent on going after the bird, so maybe they were having a nice conversation about who knows what???
Your stills and the video work are superb. Great sound track.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
Thanks so much birdie for your generous comments. I agree that my cat appeared to be more interested in having a conversation with the bird than going after it. She’s a virtuoso at those agitated “ak, ak, ak!” imitative squeaks that some cats make when they see birds. I like to think that the Spangled Drongo was showing off how much better it was as imitating her. How lucky you are to have Spangled Drongos visit you every summer. Noisy as they are, judging from our visitor they are also wonderful characters.
Ha ha ...yes y cat does that ridiculous thing with her mouth and head when she sees a bird too, but usually she is way too lazy to go after any and they are wise to her around here anyway. They are real characters, I saw one this afternoon (just after my camera battery died) and it was really glittering in the afternoon sun and showing off all its spangles. Did you see my Spangled D shots I put up a few weeks ago....it really shows their great character.
Sunshine Coast Queensland
That's a great little video! Love the mimicry. So well done birdie. :-)
Not mine Akos...... it is from Catvv !!
Sunshine Coast Queensland
I've just checked out your shots of Drongos on the beach from a few weeks ago, birdie. They sure do look like such characters, especially the one staring you down!
And many thanks Windhover for your comment about my video (not birdie's!)