Meeting the Peewee

The Magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca) is a very common suburban bird in Brisbane, it is often seen searching for food walking frantically across lawns, in pairs most of the times, if one is around usually the other is not far. I had the chance to study a breeding pair for a while and I was able to notice some very interesting things.

Male and female pair for life, different sexes have different colour patterns, females (above) have white forehead and throat, while males (below) have white eyebrows, black forehead and throat. Jouveniles have a mixed pattern with white throat and large white eyebrows, dark eyes and beak, audults have very light eyes and beak.

Both parents are very protective and won't hesitate to attack much larger birds which may be a threat for the nest such as crows. The nest is built with mud, grass and leaves. Male and female exchange nest duties approximately every 15 minutes, they both search for food so the babies can enjoy a constant food supply.

As the day gets hotter the parent stops sitting on the baby birds and stands over them with wings half open to provide shade to the nestlings.

Magpie-larks, also known as Peewees, are known to sing in duet to defend their territory. Each partner produces about one note a second but a half-second apart, so to the human ear it sounds coming from the same bird.

This beautiful bird has a very charming black and white plumage, which seems to be rather in fashion for Australian birds, their flying style reminds me of that of some bigger species of butterflies.

I hope you enjoyed reading about the Magpie-lark, until next time,

Matteo

City Life - the Australian White Ibis

The breeding season for the Australian White Ibis, Threskiornis molucca, has started here in Brisbane. Couples are building nests with twigs and small branches, usually not far from water and high on trees like Mangroves, Palms and also thick Bamboo. Some may probably already have eggs or young hatchlings.

Once the jouveniles leave the nest, they are very easily distinguished from the audults, they have a shorter bill and a dark feathery head compared to the bald head and neck of audults. The new generations also have a much whiter colour compared to the 'dirty' white of their parents. 

They have a very strong prehistoric look with their bald, wrinkly and scaly skin of head and neck. During the breeding season some magenta-carmine scales of skin appear at the back of audults' heads, as well as along the legs, their blue-black ornamental tertiary feathers become wider and shinier. They also seem to become more vocal and territorial or competitive, honking at each other very loudly.

They are opportunistic birds and they've adapted very very well to urban and suburban conditions, it looks like they are more common than crows and pigeons in Brisbane, invasive and shameless they often jump on cafe tables and walk among pedestrians across Queen Street Mall. Not very loved by people... but in the end they're just making the best out of what's available, aren't we doing just the same?

An older ink sketch

Meeting the Bush Stone-curlew

I saw three Stone Bush-curlews at the Brisbane Botanic Gardens. They are related to waders but they are actually terrestrial and found on any habitat with ground litter, from rain forests to open woodland, their face expression are very interesting and ever changing. As many other Australian animals they were not scared by close observers, probably because they rely on their camouflage and stillness, I was surprised to read that they are nocturnal birds ( no wonder the big eyes) in fact they looked kinda sleepy. After a bit of research I found a few interesting aboriginal stories related to the Bush Stone-curlew, you can read more following this link: http://blogs.crikey.com.au/northern/2010/09/27/bird-of-the-week-the-bush-stone-curlew-as-a-harbinger-of-death-and-more/

-Names- 

English: Bush Stone-curlew

Latin: Burhinus grallarius

Italian: Occhione willaroo

Aboriginal: Willaroo
Ps:  the feathers by the sketch are real, taped on the page. 

There will be more about these birds on this blog in the future...

Until next time!               Matteo

A soft spot for Botanical Art

Prints and greeting cards and bookmarks available.

There are more than 700 species of Eucalyptus native of Australia, I was attracted and inspired by the colours of those leaves found on the ground of a damp forest or just after rain, as they can reveal a wide range and variety of shades, bright and shiny. The colours will just vanish as the leaf dries so I took some photos just after picking. The journal pages, second image, are one of my earlier study of Eucalyptus leaves, the difference with the wet ones is evident. The following links provide beautiful examples of botanical art from a couple of friends: Hemlata Pradhan from India http://www.botanicalart.in/ and Vichi Lee Johnston from Australia http://vickileejohnston.blogspot.com/

Until next post!            Matteo