Everyday, everywhere, there are usually a great number of small birds flitting around amongst the foliage. Mostly they wouldn’t attract any attention and would go about their business undetected.
One such family with 12 members here in Australia are the Thornbills. In Central Queensland, we have seven of these, all of which are only 10 or 11cm in length.
My initial experience with this family was when I found that a Yellow-rumped Thornbill had built a nest in a tall tree in our front yard. The nest was reasonably high and I had gone past it on many occasions without noticing it was there above me.
I could thank the little babies for making me aware of their presence by calling out when one of the parents came back with food. From where I was standing, I had a clear view of the nest so I collected my camera and went downstairs to wait. The young were fairly close to leaving and would lean their heads out hoping that mum or dad would feed them more frequently. The photo attached was one that I took at that time.
The Yellow-rumped Thornbill inhabits areas of Australia mainly south of the Tropic of Capricorn and is probably the most seen of the species, as it is quite happy to live in close proximity to humans.
The Yellow Thornbill is also found from Rockhampton right through to Victoria. It has its yellow colour on the throat and chest whereas the Yellow-rumped is yellow under its tail.
The Buff-rumped Thornbill is another bird of eastern Australia as is the Striated Thornbill.
The Inland Thornbill virtually covers the drier parts of the interior covering all the States of the mainland.
