This noisy raucous creature spent all morning yelling at whoever would listen from the Blueberry Ash in the backyard. I had seen her at the birdbath a few times but didn't realise what a big noisy presence she had.
It's an Australian cuckoo or Koel and in the background is the little wattlebird that has been raising this impostor ever since it forced the other eggs and hatchings out of the nest. The demand for food is constant so the poor surrogate parent doesn't get much of a break. I don't know if its a male or female as the stripey yellow plumage is juvenile but I hope it gives us all a break soon.
4 comments:
We had one in our yard about two weeks ago. It had not one but two surrogates feeding it. It was nearly ready to fly - kept nearly falling off the branch and having to put its wings out to balance. It nearly took off a couple of times. But still the poor little parents serviced it. It went on for a couple of days, then they all disappeared. Maybe the adults died of exhaustion and it decided to fly off and become a grownup!
I've never seen a juvenile but the adults' noise-making signals that Christmas is approaching!
Beautiful. I've never seen one of these before.
This happen in my back yard last season. Great photo.
I haven't able to get close enough to a Koel to get a good look at it.
The wattle bird didn't come back to her nest this season probably died from exhaustion from raising it huge chick.
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