Butcherbird Visits Again

My little friend the Grey Butcherbird - Cracticus torquatus paid a visit again. Often aligned with magpies etc, but more likely to be related to the kingfishers, he's a fearless and cheeky character that always puts a smile on my face when I see him. He sometimes sits and quietly sings, a truly marvelous sound which more than matches the Magpie in its beauty.

"Cracticus torquatus"
Grey Butcherbird

I catch the occasional mouse in a trap from time to time and he snatches it up and takes it to one of the trees he uses for a larder. Butcherbirds are capable of capturing quite large prey in comparison to themselves and so they use a convenient fork in a branch to lodge their meal and tear it into smaller morsels, at times they even impale their meal on a convenient stick or thorn. This trait is the reason they've been given their very apt common name. Always alert and on the lookout for an errant insect or wayward reptile for a quick snack, the Butcherbird is a swift and agile flier and more than a match for many of the winged creatures on which it dines. Butcherbirds are usually solitary creatures in their feeding habits and I have seen this one fly into a tree and hide food for later, disguising his booty by placing it on the end of a branch and covering it with a dead leaf it plucked from nearby.

"Watchful"

The Grey Butcherbird is similar in look to the Pied Butcherbird - Cracticus nigrogularis but the latter tends to have more markedly defined plumage. The two species overlap in much of their range, however they tend to favour differing habitats, so where one species is recorded it is rare to see the other. Grey Butcherbirds can be found over much of southern mainland Australia and also in Tasmania. There is also an isolated population found in the north of Western Australia and the Northern Territory.

"I'm Not a Penguin"

Butcherbirds tend to be sedentary in their habits and an established pair may form a permanent territory that the hold for several years. They breed from July through to January depending on location and build a well formed cup shaped nest from fine grasses and other fibres. It is only the female which incubates the 3 to5 eggs for the three and a half weeks it take them to hatch. The ale stands guard at this time to defend the nest, he also brings food to his mate. once the young Butcherbirds have emerged from their eggs, both parents share in the duties of raising, feeding and protecting their offspring. The one in the images is the male and it is not often that I've seen his partner around the place. She tends to be a little more tentative in her reactions to having humans in close proximity and so may prove to be a somewhat more difficult subject to capture.

"Waiting"

Well I hope that gives you a small insight into the life of this magic little birds and a real icon of our avian fauna. I trust those unfortunate souls who've not yet managed to see this magnificent bird will one day have the opportunity.