Tuesday, August 6, 2013

Wild Bird Wednesday & Nature Notes - A bird with nasty habits


At Hay, NSW, on a bend of the Murrumbidgee River, 
I stood on the levee to catch the winter sun


 from my elevated position, I spied a youngster
perched on a nest in the treetop


it called for support and within winking, not just one but at 
least twenty of these sharp beaked monsters were harassing me.

These Miner birds, Manorina somethingorotheriana, I cannot,
with the best will in the world, nut out which of the three types it is.

I've had another look and it is the Noisy Miner,
Manorina melanocephala

These birds work in large family groups, have become adapted to 
human habitation, and murderous towards the young of other birds.
I have seen two of them hacking a baby swallow to death.


Miners are widespread and intelligent 


they spied an  opportunity
and again came in in numbers to worry away at this tarpaulin
in a caravan park, until they had loosened the fibers



and could tear away the whole corner of the fabric.
They seem to work like bikie gangs and terrorise 
all other birds in their neighbourhood.


They are pretty to look at and entertaining to watch until they go
on a killing spree.

They are classed among the honeyeaters but are most definitely omnivorous.

Linking with Stewart's


and

Michelle's Nature Notes

39 comments:

  1. Well you certainly got some super photos of them Arija but they sound a vicious bird when following their instincts. An interesting post as its a bird I have never heard of before. Thank you :)

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  2. Beautiful birds and beautiful captures!! Hope your week is going well, Arija! Enjoy!

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  3. I always love your birds! Great shots for the day! Hope your week is going well, Arija!!

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  4. Great photos and those birds certainly have bad habits.

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  5. Cool birds! Different ones for me. I've never seen them before....I can only imagine how they act.....the description reminds me of our Jays back home......they are similar in attitude:)

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  6. PS. Now I know why I wasn't getting your updates....I don't know how I was unsubscribed to you but I'm back again.

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  7. They do look pretty,but sound quite disgusting in their habits.

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  8. Bad birds! Are they the same ones that might sometimes be called mynah birds? I posted pictures of an unknown bird a couple of years ago (when we were in Florida) and people told me they were mynas or mynahs. (They didn't look exactly like yours, but sort of). I learned they were an invasive species in Florida. One guy, from Australia, told me in an e-mail how horrible they were.

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  9. Thank you for visiting my blog and leaving a comment.
    Mother Nature can be cruel at times and with us it is the big crows I see going on rampages to eat the babies of other birds. Downright destructive in the photos with the fabric.

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  10. They sure are handsome birds.

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  11. I've never seen the likes of these birds. The yellow behind the eye almost makes it look comical - but that beak!! and attitude... make me glad we don't have their kinds of gangs around here!

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  12. Hi Arija I have seen that bird many times when I visited my daughter in Sydney and can understand what they were up to. I even think the yellow around the eye makes them look a bit evil.

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  13. Great shots of these small birds. Interesting.

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  14. Oh my! I have never seen these birds and though I have heard their name I knew nothing about them. What intense looks they have on their faces! What was nature thinking when she created these? I am sure they have their purpose but what a nuisance! thanks for the enlightenment!

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  15. We only get them in small groups here, and there is a local group which traps and kills them. I don't like their habits but we after all introduced them to the country. It is not their fault that they adapted so successfully.

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  16. great post and observations ARija

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  17. Lovely shots of these interesting birds.

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  18. A new bird for me, but not one that sounds pleasant to have around.

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  19. There are some birds habits that are quite horrific. I am thinking also of Australia's butcher birds - well named, but their brutality hidden behind the most beautiful of birdsong.

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  20. I too get confused with miner or myna bird. We have a few that hang around my home on the Mornington Peninsula. I have not seen their destructive habits. I wonder if it has something to do with the kookaburras who seem to be the kings of the feather jungle round here.

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    1. Gemma,
      the Indian Mynah is the brown bird with bright yellow beak. The ones I have featured are Miner birds, also an imported bird. I don't think I have seen any Mier birds in Melbourne or southern Vic. I may of course be wrong since I have not regularly visited Melb. in the last year.

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  21. Hi there. These birds do know how to look after their own.

    Thanks for the information on when to visit.

    Cheers and thanks for linking to WBW

    Stewart M - Melbourne

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  22. Wow, so interesting! I didn't know there were birds like that! Almost criminals!
    Greetings Pia

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  23. Hi Arija,
    Beautiful photos of this bird.
    I've never seen them, it is nature eat or be eaten.

    Greetings Irma

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  24. Hmmmmm, never heard of this and the attacks. Kinda like the Charles Manson of bird kingdom.

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  25. an interresting post Arija. Has the species always been so destructive or is it something they have acquired over many years - just a thought? Sorry about the result - better luck next time.

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  26. Wow, what a predator!! Boom & Gary of the Vermilon River, Canada.

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  27. It sounds like a horror story! It is said that omnivores must be much more intelligent than species that specialize in just one food source. It follows that they have to learn to solve a great variety of problems so they can fill their stomachs.

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  28. Beautiful and interesting captures, Arija.
    Have a good week!

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  29. Oh my...kind of like thugs in the bird world. Pretty though and probably very smart.. hope you are taking care of yourself.. Hugs.. Michelle

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  30. What pretty birds Arija, but reading what you say about them I expect you have mixed feelings.

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  31. I agree a beautiful bird species, but oh my, I would not want to be the bird to get in their way...goodness, little mean spirits...haha~

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  32. seems like a bird you could do without. Rarely say that. Hm.

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  33. Your post reminds me of the Hitchcock movie The Birds. I can almost see a malevolent intelligence in their eyes (or maybe I'm just tired). Nice shots!

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  34. They are pretty birds, it is a shame they are so mean! Wonderful photos!

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  36. Handsome, but horrible. And I thought cowbirds were bad.

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  37. The look so cute! Who would say they act like that?! Love the nest shot.

    In answer to your question, above 35ºC is too hot for me and, like all summers, we have had a few days hitting 40º. The record in Portugal was 47,4ºC in 2003 (fortunatelly not in Lisbon) which was a horrible year in what concerns draughts and fires. It just didn't rain on the previous winter or spring...

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