Tuesday, February 28, 2017

Magpie at the Birdbath

Until now I had only seen crimson rosellas at the birdbath here, but today a magpie came for a drink:
The pictures are taken through the window, and from a bit of distance so I wouldn't frighten him away. I know it's a "him" because of the very white feathers. The females are more grey than white.
He drank quite a bit, and walked through the water, but didn't take a bath.

Australian magpies are not related to European ones, they just got the name because they were black and white.  And their scientific name has changed recently. They are now Cracticus tibicen, instead of Gymnorhina tibicen which I have labelled them in previous posts.
If you aren't Australian and have never heard this bird sing, you should go to this page: Australian Magpie, and down the right-hand side of the page under "Calls" there is a sound file you can play.
Let me know what you think of it if you've never heard it before!


4 comments:

Jeanette said...

Funny thing, I was listening to a magpie singing away outside as I read this. Such a complex song.

jacaranda said...

A simple thing of watching a magpie play and drink in the bath, makes my day.

Jeann of Melton said...

I love the sounds of magpies and crows.

Dianne said...

Great maggie photos! I hope he comes back for a proper bath!