The flower provides the food source and the birds repay them by taking pollen from one flower to the next facilitating cross pollination. Birds also help control weeds and insects.
So this week it's the birds that visit the garden.
The Grey Butcherbird (Cracticus torquatus) is a species of butcherbird found throughout much of the Australian mainland and Tasmania.
The vocalizations of Grey Butcherbirds include pleasant melodious song as well as a range of noisy cackling calls which sound a bit like maniacal laughter! Like other species of butcherbird, Grey Butcherbirds often sing duets as pairs. In addition to their typical song, Grey Butcherbirds have a softer ‘whisper song’ or ‘subsong’ which often includes mimicry of other species.
Butcherbirds get their name from their gruesome way of feeding. When they catch prey, they hang it off a branch or tree fork, and hack the meat away, just like a butcher. It also hangs uneaten food in the fork of a branch or impaled on a twig (their ‘larder’) and comes back to eat the leftovers later.
This one is a frequent visitor and is quite friendly and not afraid if you get close. I was below "having a chat" - s/he happily chats back and is always interested to see what I am doing. S/He mimics other birds in the area and does sing a duet with a friend.
@30pics4jackiesdiamond how they got their name apparently - Butcherbirds get their name from their gruesome way of feeding. When they catch prey, they hang it off a branch or tree fork, and hack the meat away, just like a butcher. It also hangs uneaten food in the fork of a branch or impaled on a twig (their ‘larder’) and comes back to eat the leftovers later.
