Thread: How many birds?

Not so serious mate!. I just happened to be musing a bit.

WW loves his Blackbirds but for me the carolling of a group of magpies or the songs of the butcherbirds are hard to beat.

Whenever I was in the bushas a youngster the laughter of the Kookaburras always sounded great. Somehow comforting.

As for birds with character I like the blue wrens and the willy wagtails. The Willy wagtails are surprisingly fiesty little fellas. Had one that nested in a dead white cedar tree on the farm. Anytime I went near it there was an almighty fuss and if I din't leave the thing would land on my head and scratch the hell out of my scalp.

First birds heard this morning was a lone carolling Maggie and two female power walkers having a conversation together at the same time When I was young we visited my Nan at Upper Ferntree Gully and I remember the Bell Bird who's call seemed to carry through the forest for ages. The Eastern Honey Eater has a call which is not as melodic as some but is distinctive for the few beak clapers at the end. It's funny listening to a young Maggie's trying to get their call together

Originally Posted by weisyboy

to many

if they get to close tehy get a nasty injection.

we had 54 butcherbirds, magpies, crows and corowongs coming in to eat the dog and cat food last year. was costing a fortune.

Shame on you Carl


Personally the call of the magpie is my all time favourite.

Originally Posted by springwater

Meant to reply to this on Sunday morning when I first read it but had to scoot off and then forgot, sorry about that , thoughtful thread Artme There's a menagerie of birds around here and they create a lot of chitta chatta, especially in the morning and especially Sunday morning because they must have known the rain was coming. The conversations subsided as the day went on but before nightfall they all seemed to have lots to say to each other about what had happened during the day and who was going to sleep where.

There is a bird that makes a call which is exactly like the tune of something I can't remember the words of, but it's English, I think war time, about Hitler maybe If you you can imagine a whistling sound with this rhythm da dada da da...da da, except the bird leaves the last two da da's to who ever knows the tune anyone know what the hell I'm talking about

Colonel Bogeys March.[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvWLMkxSwIo"]YouTube - Colonel Bogey March[/ame]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hitler_...y_Got_One_Ball for the other version.

Originally Posted by

Colonel Bogeys March. Hitler Has Only Got One Ball - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia for the other version.

Thanks .

artme, it may be a cuckoo shrike, i think they are called. edit, just googled the call. not it. So you can at least cross that one off.
try here Bird finder - Birds in Backyards a good library of calls.
TL you don't have all those birds in your area It's one lyrebird trying to make you think it's hundreds of other species
[ame="http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3433507052114896375"]Lyrebird Unbeleivable Jungle Bird Mimics Bird and Human Sounds[/ame]# a link for our downunderly challenged friends.

Unfortunately i am up and gone long before the sun so i don't get to hear the dawn chorus
I love the sound of bell birds and rifle birds and of course Magpies.
I hand raised an orphaned magpie once. I was so proud the first day he flew all by himself. We used to do a party trick for unsuspecting visitors. I would walk outside, hold up my arm and whistle and he would swoop in and perch on my arm. Very impressive.

you realise now this is going to play in my head all day and if I start whistling it I'll get clouted.
Also its going to bug me as it reminds me of a book I read as a kid which I have been trying to recall the name of the book for sometime anyway it mentions a dancing pony which danced to the tune.

Lyre birds!! When I was in Scouts I was on a major hike once on the way from the head of the Nambucca River to Point Lookout on the New England Tablelands.

One of the fellows was not well (turned out to be tick poisoning) so a couple went on ahead to get the park ranger. The rest of us took the gear and made slow progress. Sat down for a spell and could here a vehicle starting uop. It stopped and happened again, and a third time.

Dammned Lyre bird!!

OK all you knowledgable types- How did Colonel Bogey come to be named so???

When I ran rafting trips on the Mitchell R. (Vic) many years ago I had a bloke on one trip who was an expert at identifying bird calls. "That's an xxx, that's a yyy, that's a lyre bird pretending to be a zzz ..."
Same bloke was woken up one morning by a tawny frogmouth on his sleeping bag, investigating him.

Originally Posted by artme

OK all you knowledgable types- How did Colonel Bogey come to be named so???

Wikipedia.

Originally Posted by Woodwould

Wikipedia.

Stop taking the fun out of my trivia contest WW!!

Originally Posted by NCArcher

TL you don't have all those birds in your area It's one lyrebird trying to make you think it's hundreds of other species
No they are the ones I have definately SEEN not just heard.
and of course Magpies.
I hand raised an orphaned magpie once. I was so proud the first day he flew all by himself. We used to do a party trick for unsuspecting visitors. I would walk outside, hold up my arm and whistle and he would swoop in and perch on my arm. Very impressive.

My Aunt had one that use to come into the kichen and move all the cigarette butts out of the ash tray intp the subar bowl at the other end of the bench. Also did a nice line in sitting on the back of chairs and p**ing in handbags.

Originally Posted by AlexS

Same bloke was woken up one morning by a tawny frogmouth on his sleeping bag, investigating him.

A reckon the tune is more like "shave and a hair cut.......two bits."

Originally Posted by tea lady

A reckon the tune is more like "shave and a hair cut.......two bits."

The tune sort of goes like this
Attachment 133545