People like to protect things that belong to them and birds have a similar trait. I think quite a few people would have seen a pee-wee attacking the shiny mud-guard of some vehicle. Obviously the bird had seen its own reflection in the shiny surface and decided to try to chase it out of its own territory.
Recently friends phoned me to tell me about a little bird that was continually banging its beck against their kitchen window. This had been going on for days, almost driving them crazy. They put some cardboard against the window but this didn’t deter him.
Their description of the bird was clear. It was a Red-backed Fairy Wren. The reason for its continued assault on the window was obvious. He would think that his reflection was another Wren invading his territory and he was determined to chase it out of his domain.
I was also told at they had seen two similar little birds but these were brown coloured all over. These would be females so this family group may have built a nest nearby.
I took my camera up to their place and saw for myself what was happening. The poor male must have been exhausted, the number of times he hit the window.
We went outside and set up a stool for me to sit on and wait. It wasn’t long before the little fellow was back but he moved so quickly, pecking all over the window that I couldn’t get a shot away.
I decided to focus on one part of the window and stay on it, hoping the bird would land on that part. This he did on his next visit so I was able to take the photo illustrated here as well as a couple of others.
