We had a very welcome visit from a group of about half a dozen babblers this afternoon (we see them maybe twice a year).
Fortunately I had camera and long lens handy and was able to follow them around the yard. After they'd finished feeding, they flew up into a casuarina and these two started grooming each other. Because we don't get to see them oftern, I have never seen this behaviour in babblers before - is it common ?
Cheers,
Geoff
I can't help you Geoff, I have never seen one before. But I love your photos, thanks for showing them.
M-L
I am no Babbler expert (some would say that I am good at babbling) but your pics look like Grey-crowned Babblers and not White-browed Babblers.
Where were you pics taken?
Here's a pic from Crows Nest
My 5 observations - 4 at Coraki, NSW and 1 at Crows Nest, Qld - have all been of family groups with lots of interactions but I have not looked specifically for preening of other birds.
Peter
Thanks Araminta - I'm rather partial to yur photos too
Cheers,
Geoff
Pacman,
Yes, I think you are right Grey Crowned - I had never really noticed the brown belly until I looked back through the photos - alos the location in Maitland NSW would make it more likely to be Grey Crowned.
I really love watcing these birds they way they work as such a close knit group with the constant "babble" as they move around.
Cheers,
Geoff
I think it was Pizzey who described white-browed babblers as "querrulous". An apt description.
Mutual preening is common among many bird species. I think the term is allopreening & I understand it's designed to both reinforce bonds between birds & maintain feathers that an individual bird might find hard to reach. However, the latter doesn't explain why some species don't seem to engage in allopreening although I might be mistaken there - perhaps all bird species do engage in allopreening.