Tag: #BirdoftheWeek

The largest Eagle

Published on by bushboy20 Comments

Don’t Hold Your Breath’s Bird of the Week XI

This week let’s have a look at the Wedged-tailed Eagle, Aquila audax, the largest Eagle in Australia and the third largest Eagle in the world by wind span and length. Their wing span is 210 centimeters and up to 284 centimeters and their length is 95.5 centimeters.
Adding up all the statistics, the Wedged-tailed Eagle comes in at seventh largest as they don’t weigh as much as other worlds Eagles, with a weight between 2 to 5.8 kilograms.

Wedged-tailed Eagles have that characteristic long, wedge-shaped tail and are found all over Australia, from sea level to alpine regions in the mountains, but they prefer wooded and forested land and open country, generally avoiding rainforest and coastal heaths.

I found this Wedged-tailed Eagle scouting my road looking for a snack.

Wedge-tailed Eagles may hunt singly, in pairs or in larger groups. Working together, a group of eagles can attack and kill animals as large as adult kangaroos. This explains the scientific name of the Wedge-tailed Eagle which means ‘bold eagle’. Under ideal conditions, an eagle can lift about 50% of its body weight.

They are monogamous and pair for life. Wedge-tailed Eagle nests are usually built in the tallest trees, which makes it very important to retain healthy mature forests Australia-wide. Nests are re-used and added to over many years, and can reach 2 metres in diameter and 4 metres deep and weighing about 400 kg are known.

Wedge-tailed Eagles eat mostly carrion (roadkills and other carcasses are readily eaten), however they do include live prey in their diet

A Red-necked Wallaby killed by a vehicle and feasted on by a Wedgie.

They may be the largest fiercest bird but dare to venture too close to a Magpies nest and they get a good chasing away.

References:
https://australian.museum/learn/animals/birds/wedge-tailed-eagle/
https://echidnawalkabout.com.au/5-amazing-facts-wedge-tailed-eagle/

The king of the garden

Published on by bushboy26 Comments

Don’t Hold Your Breath’s Bird of the Week – Week X

King Parrots are found all along the East Coast and ranges of Australia. They range from Cooktown in Queensland through to Port Campbell in Victoria. They are found in rainforests and wet sclerophyll forests.

I always have King Parrots in the garden. I occasionally put out some seed for them and the other seed eaters. Sometimes I get reminded that they are around and perhaps may enjoy a snack. They seem to know what part of the house I am in especially a male I call Tiny. He was smaller than the others and didn’t move away when the others went elsewhere. Sometimes he follows me around the garden.

The male King Parrot is the only parrot in Australian with a completely red head

The female King Parrots are green headed

The juveniles look like females until puberty and those male feathers start to emerge

Quite often they are a bit of fun to have around

Sometimes they enjoy a good squabble

Babblers, what a funny name

Published on by bushboy33 Comments

Don’t Hold Your Breaths Bird of the Week VIII

Grey-crowned Babblers live in family groups between four and twelve. The family that live on my place I have not see more than seven. When the feed on the ground, there is always a Babbler in a tree who will sound a warning if danger is approaching and the ones on the ground are in the trees in a flash. They are rather large birds. The Grey-crowned Babbler is the largest of the Babblers.

They are fun to watch as they patrol the bush, flicking over leaves and bits of bark with their curved bill looking for insects. As the walk along there is a constant babbling, a “chuck” sound that is the communication.

In the audio below, the first call is the alarm call and then everyone chats about the alarm call *from http://www.graemechapman.com.au/library/sounds

Grey-crowned Babblers really enjoy foraging in the Stringybark trees. They are able just to rip the bark from the trees with that curved bill. Babblers are quite good at hanging on vertically, ripping bark, chatting and finding insects.

Often another Babbler will join in when there appears to be a bounty to be had.

Unfortunately. Grey-crowned Babblers status in my state, New South Wales, is vulnerable so I am glad they have found my place to live. When I walked about my badly burnt property in 2019 making sure there weren’t any badly burnt animals that may need looking after. Thankfully I didn’t find any but found the Babblers.

Checking me out

Published on by bushboy31 Comments

Don’t hold Your Breaths: Bird of the Week

Well, thanks to Lisa’s post I now have another photo challenge on my list one that will be very easy for me and is close to my heart. Bung up a bird photo, link to IJ’s site and there you go.

First off I was being spied on as I was spying on an eastern Spinebill in a Firesticks Grevillea.

From Don’t Hold Your Breath
“There aren’t many places on WordPress where bird watchers can share posts. If you post any photos of birds this week (starting today and up to next Monday), it would be great if you could leave a link in the comments, or a pingback, for others to follow. There is no compulsion to post a recent photo, but it would help others to know when and where you saw the bird. You might consider using the tag “Bird of the Week” in case people search for old posts using it.“